This chart ranks the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded worldwide by peak one-minute sustained wind speed, in km/h. Hurricane Patricia holds the global record for the highest sustained winds ever observed.

About: Strongest Tropical Cyclones Worldwide by Wind Speed

Overview of the data behind this chart

AI Insight

Hurricane Patricia, which struck the eastern Pacific in 2015, set the global record with peak sustained winds of 345 km/h, roughly 30 km/h faster than any other storm ever measured. Behind it sits a tight cluster of Pacific super typhoons, Haiyan (2013), Meranti (2016), Goni (2020) and Surigae (2021), all reaching 315 km/h. Typhoon Tip (1979) follows at 306 km/h and remains the record-holder for the largest and lowest-pressure cyclone ever recorded. A clear pattern stands out: nearly every entry formed in the western or eastern Pacific, whose vast expanses of warm water give cyclones more room and energy to intensify than the smaller Atlantic basin. The narrow spread among the top storms, all between 306 and 345 km/h, suggests these winds may be near the practical upper limit for tropical cyclones on Earth.

Data source: List of the most intense tropical cyclones

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Patricia (2015) leads with 345 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 319 · median: 315.

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Gap in All Time: Patricia (2015) is 1.1× larger than Tip (1979).

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Strongest Tropical Cyclones Worldwide by Wind Speed

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

6 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

345

Patricia (2015)

Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) · All Time

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Metrics

Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h)

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Period

All Time

Single year snapshot

Category Rankings

Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) · All Time

#	Category	All Time
🥇	Patricia (2015)	345
🥈	Haiyan (2013)	315
🥉	Meranti (2016)	315
4	Goni (2020)	315
5	Surigae (2021)	315
6	Tip (1979)	306

Statistical Summary — Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) · All Time

345

Maximum

306

Minimum

319

Average

315

Median

What This Data Shows

Auto-generated trend summaries per category

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Patricia (2015)

Recorded 345 Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) in All Time.

Source

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Haiyan (2013)

Recorded 315 Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) in All Time.

Source

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Meranti (2016)

Recorded 315 Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) in All Time.

Source

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Goni (2020)

Recorded 315 Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) in All Time.

Source

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Surigae (2021)

Recorded 315 Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) in All Time.

Source

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Tip (1979)

Recorded 306 Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h) in All Time.

Source

Full Data Table

6 records across 1 year

6 sourced

Category	Metric	All Time
Patricia (2015)	Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h)	345
Haiyan (2013)	Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h)	315
Meranti (2016)	Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h)	315
Goni (2020)	Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h)	315
Surigae (2021)	Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h)	315
Tip (1979)	Peak 1-Minute Sustained Wind (km/h)	306