Weather of 2026

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Storm Goretti was an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone that impacted Western Europe in early January 2026.

The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2026.

Global conditions

Official NOAA CPC ENSO probabilities as of May 2026

A weak La Niña event evolved to ENSO-neutral in early 2026, but by May was "rapidly transitioning" to El Niño, according to Columbia University's Climate School. Computer modeling in late May by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suggested the development of an El Niño event was likely by the July through September peak of the Pacific hurricane season. The Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR) and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) ENSO plume forecast gave a 98% probability of El Niño forming and a 97%-98% probability of continuing through the end of the year, a range Columbia called "remarkably high and narrow".

On June 2 the United Nations World Meteorological Organization confirmed "that El Niño conditions are developing in the tropical Pacific and are expected to influence weather and climate patterns around the world in the months ahead." The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts released a forecast of a central equatorial Pacific Ocean temperature anomaly of 3–4 °C (5.4–7.2 °F), which would make it the strongest on record.

June 2026 global average sea surface temperatures reached an all-time record high for the month of June, with 2026's spring temperatures being exceeded only in spring of 2024.

Deadliest events

Deadliest meteorological events during 2026

Rank	Event	Date(s)	Deaths (+Missing)	Refs
1	2026 European heatwaves	May 22 – present	25,000+
2	Storm Harry	January 16–23	390+
3	January 2026 Southern Africa floods	January 12–25	200+
4	January 2026 North American winter storm	January 22–30	174+
5	2026 Kenya floods	March 6 – present	112+
6	2026 Uttar Pradesh storm	May 13	111+
7	2026 West Bandung landslide	January 24	80+
8	Intense Tropical Cyclone Gezani	February 4–18	63+
9	2026 Angola floods	April 4–15	45+
10	2026 North American heat wave	June 28 – present	44

Types

Cold snaps and winter storms

See also: 2025–26 North American winter, 2025–26 Asian winter, and Winter of 2025–26 in Great Britain and Ireland

From January 22–27, a deadly winter storm affected Northern Mexico, United States and Atlantic Canada, causing many warnings, freezing temperatures and more than 170 deaths over the area. On January 28, the storm moved out to the open Atlantic Ocean, followed by another storm which affected almost all the same regions.

Tornadoes

January

Main article: Tornadoes of 2026

On January 4, a tornado struck the Frattocchie area in Marino, Italy, after reportedly coming from the sea. 30 trees were downed, and several structures and vehicles sustained damage. The tornado was rated as an IF1.5 on the International Fujita Scale. A few days later, a small tornado event occurred in Oklahoma early on January 8, with five tornadoes being confirmed, one of which was rated EF2 after it tore the roof off of a house southwest of Purcell. This tornado caused one injury along its path when it rolled a semi-truck as it crossed I–35 in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. That day, a significant tornado struck the town of Kalpaki, Greece. The tornado destroyed a farm, killing 30 to 40 thousand chickens. Two other buildings were heavily damaged, with partially collapsed walls, the tornado was rated as an IF2 tornado on the International Fujita Scale. Two days later, a tornado struck the city of São José dos Pinhais, Brazil. The tornado wrecked a warehouse and damaged at least 350 homes, as well as several walls, utility poles, and trees. An estimated 1,200 people were impacted, with two families being displaced and two people lightly injured. The winds reached an estimated 180 km/h (112 mph), and the tornado rated a low-end F2.

Tropical and subtropical cyclones

These paragraphs are an excerpt from Tropical cyclones in 2026.[edit]

Tropical cyclones are primarily monitored by 10 warning centers around the world, which are designated as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These centers are: National Hurricane Center (NHC), Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC), Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Météo-France (MFR), Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Papua New Guinea's National Weather Service (PNGNWS), Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), and New Zealand's MetService. Unofficial, but still notable, warning centers include the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA; albeit official within the Philippines), the United States's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), and the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center.

Extratropical cyclones and European windstorms

See also: 2025–26 European windstorm season and Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone

Storm Anna caused widespread chaos at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, particularly on January 2, 2026, where a combination of heavy snow and shifting crosswinds led to the cancellation of over 325 flights and delayed more than 635 others. The disruption at Schiphol hit KLM and easyJet hardest, with KLM alone cancelling roughly 30% of its schedule due to the airport's reduced runway capacity. The storm brought wind gusts of up to 90 km/h (56 mph) along the northern coast of the Netherlands. In Sweden, meteorologists recorded extreme accumulations, with up to 50 cm (20 in) of snow falling in parts of central Sweden on New Year's Day and January 2, leaving thousands of households without power. In the Netherlands and Germany, the storm's tail end brought freezing rain and black ice, leading to hazardous road conditions and the deployment of specialized snow removal equipment like the Lavastorm truck on major highways. Meanwhile, in Poland, the storm's heavy snow paralyzed the S7 motorway, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded in sub-zero temperatures with traffic jams stretching up to 20 km (12 mi).

Between 5 and 8 May 2026, an intense cut-off low-pressure system stalled over South Africa, triggering the South African Weather Service to issue its highest-impact Orange Level 8 warnings for the Eastern and Western Cape. The system delivered extreme rainfall, with Joubertina recording 301.2 mm (11.86 in) in three days, while the Kouga Dam saw an unprecedented rise from 32% to over 113% capacity in 24 hours. These torrential downpours resulted in widespread flash flooding that inundated homes, destroyed critical road infrastructure, and forced the emergency evacuation of over 2,000 residents in the Gamtoos Valley. Beyond the flooding, the storm brought gale-force winds and dangerous coastal surges, claiming at least one life in Knysna and leaving several communities in the Garden Route and Karoo completely isolated until the system finally moved offshore on 8 May.

Wildfires

Main article: Wildfires in 2026

Satellite imagery of Victoria (Australia), showing smoke plumes from fires on 9 January 2026.

Fires from January to April 2026 burned more than 150 million ha (370 million acres) of land—20% more than the previous record.

Australia

Main article: 2025–26 Australian bushfire season

On January 7, extreme conditions in Victoria, Australia, allowed for a massive fire outbreak, burning over 300 thousand ha (740 thousand acres), destroying over 300 structures, and resulting in one death.

Chile

Main article: 2026 Chilean wildfires

From 16 January 2026, major wildfires burned in the regions of Biobío and Ñuble, destroying at least 800 structures, resulting in over 50,000 forced to evacuate and 21 fatalities.

Heatwaves

In late January, much of Australia experienced a prolonged, extreme heatwave, with 12 locations recording temperatures above 49 °C (120 °F), and two, Andamooka and Port Augusta reaching 50 °C (122 °F) on 29 and 30 January.

World Weather Attribution said that, even considering the progress of global warming, March 2026 heatwaves in Western North America were "rare events" that would have been "virtually impossible" without human-induced climate change.

In March, NASA reported that, for the second consecutive year winter arctic sea ice declined, matching the lowest level since records began in 1979.

NOAA's NCEI reported that the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) average temperature in March 2026 was 5.2 °C (9.4 °F) above the 20th century average—the warmest March in the 132-year record. Also, the year from April 2025 to March 2026 was deemed to be the warmest ever recorded for the CONUS in records since 1895, and January–March 2026 was the driest on record for the CONUS.

In May, a historic intense "heat dome" of high pressure trapping warm air from Northern Africa shattered all-time May national temperature records across Western Europe. A study by extreme event attribution organization Climameter ascribed the high temperatures of the May 2026 Western European Heatwave to human-driven climate change, with natural climate variability likely playing a minor role. This happened again in June with many western and central European countries recording record temperatures, with large swathes under red warnings for heat.

In June, an Antarctic heatwave reached temperatures of nearly 60 °F (16 °C)—which is 36 °F (20 °C) above normal—leading to widespread ice thawing and rain falling on glaciers.

Timeline

January

• January 4 – A tornado struck the Frattocchie area in Marino, Italy, after reportedly coming from the sea. 30 trees were downed, and several structures and vehicles sustained damage. The tornado was rated as an IF1.5 on the International Fujita Scale.
• January 5–10 – Southeastern Australia experiences its most severe heatwave since 2019; temperatures exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in Melbourne and Sydney, while regional Victoria and New South Wales face "extreme" fire danger ratings.
• January 6–10 – Storm Goretti impacts Cornwall and northern France causing widespread tree loss, structural and economic damage with ~500,000 power cuts. 132 mph (59 m/s; 115 kn; 212 km/h) was recorded at Barfleur, Manche, France.
• January 8–9 – La Farge, Wisconsin, recorded 2.29 inches (58 mm) of rain, a record 24-hour amount for January.
• January 15 – Two people died due to severe winter storms in the Russian Far East.
• January 15–22 – 10 people died due to landslides and flooding caused by heavy rainfall during a storm which devastated parts of the North Island of New Zealand.
• January 16–23 – Storm Harry impacts the Mediterranean region; extreme weather and high waves lead to at least 390 fatalities, many of whom were migrants attempting to cross the sea.
• January 22–27 – A major winter storm crossed the United States and Atlantic Canada causing more than 173 fatalities.
• January 24 – A massive landslide in West Bandung, Indonesia, triggered by heavy rainfall, results in over 80 fatalities.
• January 29–30 – Andamooka and Port Augusta in South Australia reach 50 °C (122 °F) during a second intense heatwave, setting new local records.
• January 30 – Tropical Cyclone Fytia makes landfall in Madagascar after rapidly intensifying in the Mozambique Channel, causing 12 fatalities.

February

• February 1 – The temperature in Freeport, Bahamas reaches a high of only 11 °C (52 °F), the coldest high temperature ever recorded for the city.
• February 2 – Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Mexico, records its coldest temperature in over 40 years at 4.2 °C (39.6 °F) as an Arctic air mass pushes deep into Central America.
• February 3 – Perico, Cuba records a national record-low temperature for the country at 1 °C (34 °F).
• February 3–7 – Tropical Storm Penha impacts Northern Mindanao and Visayas in the Philippines causing 12 fatalities and $25.5 million in damages.
• February 4–18 – Cyclone Gezani impacts the Toamasina Province in Madagascar causing 63 fatalities and $142 million in damages.
• February 10 – Massive wildfires fueled by record heat and wind strike the Biobío and Ñuble regions of Chile, resulting in 21 fatalities and the destruction of hundreds of homes.
• February 20–24 – A blizzard affected the Northeast United States.
• Late February – Heavy rains across Southern Africa lead to catastrophic flooding in Mozambique, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and damaging over 30,000 homes.

March

• March 6 – present – Destructive flooding in Kenya causes 110 fatalities, with most of the victims dying mainly from drowning or electrocution.
• March 10–24 – A series of Kona storms produced damaging floods in Hawaii, after thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall peaking at 54.92 inches (1,395 mm) on Maui. The floods caused more than US$1 billion in damage.
• March 12 – Intense localised rainfall triggers severe flooding and landslides across the Minas Gerais state in Brazil, resulting in more than 70 fatalities; the city of Juiz de Fora records its wettest month on record.
• March 13–17 – The March 2026 North American blizzard affects much of the Upper Midwest and High Plains with up to 3–4 feet (36–48 in; 91–122 cm) of snow, and causes an ice storm over northern Michigan. This was the first winter storm to be rated as a Category 5 on the Regional Snowfall Index in ten years.
• March 20 – The previous U.S. national heat record of 108 °F (42 °C) for the month of March was broken with a temperature of 112 °F (44 °C) at Buttercup and Squaw Lake in California.
• March 20–27 – Cyclone Narelle landfalls four times around Australia in Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia.

April

• April 2–11 – Cyclone Maila, the first tropical cyclone to be named by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Port Moresby in 19 years, impacts Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
• April 3–30 – A series of European tornadoes occur throughout the month, with confirmed touchdowns in Italy, Greece, and Turkey; a waterspout making landfall in Bat Yam, Israel, results in one fatality.
• April 7 – Severe flooding in Dagestan, Russia, kills six people and inundates over 6,000 homes.
• April 7–8 – Cyclone Vaianu impacts Fiji, bringing destructive winds and flooding to the Western Division and Viti Levu.
• April 8–22 – Typhoon Sinlaku formed off Pohnpei and it rapidly intensified into a Category 5 Super Typhoon four days later while moving west northwest slowly. It made landfall on Saipan and Tinian just before midnight on April 14, becoming the second strongest to make landfall on the island behind Typhoon Yutu of 2018.
• April 13 – Intense flash flooding hits Riyadh and eastern Saudi Arabia, leading to widespread school closures and urban transport disruptions.
• April 13 – A severe weather outbreak across the US Midwest produces multiple tornadoes across Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
• April 14 – A tornado outbreak hit parts of the Plains and Midwest with a significant tornado hitting Ottawa, Kansas.
• April 15 – Torrential rains cause devastating floods and landslides in Angola, specifically in Luanda and Benguela, resulting in at least 45 fatalities.
• April 15–16 – Deadly flood events occur in Ecuador and Haiti; 15 people are killed in Ecuador with 28,000 homes damaged, while 12 fatalities are confirmed in northwestern Haiti.
• April 17 – A large tornado outbreak took way ranging from Missouri to Wisconsin, with a high-end EF2 tornado occurring near Lena, IL, and two EF3 tornadoes in Cream, WI and Ringle, WI.
• April 23–28 – A tornado outbreak sequence affects the Plains and the Midwest. Multiple tornado watches and warnings were issued during the afternoon and evening, and a tornado emergency was issued for southern Enid, when an EF4 tornado caused extreme damage to multiple houses and other structures on April 23, injuring 1 person.
• Late April – A United Nations report highlights a severe drought reaching critical levels in southern Madagascar, decimating local crop yields.

May

• The Copernicus Climate Change Service concluded that May 2026 was the second warmest May globally since records began in 1850.
• May 1 – present – An extreme heatwave grips South Asia; temperatures exceed 46 °C (115 °F) in parts of India and Pakistan. The event is characterized by record-high nighttime temperatures, significantly increasing the risk of heatstroke and placing unprecedented strain on regional power grids.
• May 5–6 – A severe wildfire in the Lublin region of south-eastern Poland burns over 250 hectares of forest in Kozaki, resulting in the death of a firefighting pilot during an aircraft crash.
• May 5–8 – An intense cut-off low-pressure system battered South Africa, triggering Orange Level 8 weather warnings for disruptive rain and flooding. The storm caused widespread infrastructure damage and evacuations in the Eastern Cape and Garden Route, with rainfall totals exceeding 300 mm (12 in) in Joubertina. The Kouga Dam exceeds its capacity (113%), leading to mass evacuations in the Gamtoos Valley.
• May 5–6 – A late season winter storm affects the Rocky Mountains. Cheyenne, Wyoming received 8.9 inches (23 cm) of snow, their heaviest of the season and the highest since March 2021, while the Boulder, Colorado office of the NWS recorded 10.7 inches (27 cm), the heaviest May snowstorm since 2013. Higher accumulations of 18–24 inches (46–61 cm) occurred in the mountainous peaks, with Estes Park reporting as much as 27 inches (69 cm).
• May 6–7 – A tornado outbreak affects the Southeastern United States. Four tornado emergencies were issued in southwestern Mississippi, along with several other PDS tornado warnings.
• May 13 – A series of deadly and destructive thunderstorms swept across Uttar Pradesh, India, causing 96 deaths and 72 injuries.
• May 13 – Honduras repeatedly broke its all-time May maximum temperature records when Choluteca recorded a scorching 42.2 °C (108.0 °F).
• May 25–26 – England, Wales and Northern Ireland all broke their all-time maximum temperature for May. A temperature of 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) was recorded in Kew Gardens, beating the old record from 1922 and 1944 of 32.8 °C (91.0 °F); and it also broke the records for the UK's hottest low temperature for any given day in May and the UK's hottest bank holiday ever. The next day this was broken again where 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) was recorded again at Kew Gardens.
• Late May – A severe heatwave affects the Northern Great Plains, with maximum temperatures reaching as high as 41 °C (106 °F) across the Dakotas and Manitoba.

June

• June 2 – The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) officially confirmed that El Niño conditions are actively developing in the tropical Pacific. This rapid transition follows a remarkably high 97–98% probability forecast from Columbia University's Climate School. Computer modeling points to an equatorial Pacific temperature anomaly of 3–4 °C (5.4–7.2 °F), threatening to make this the strongest El Niño event on record and heavily altering global weather patterns for the remainder of the year.
• June 11 – A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notice stated that "El Niño conditions are present and expected to strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27".
• June 11 – A moderately sized but intense tornado outbreak occurred in Illinois and Indiana, with an EF3 near Washburn, and two EF3 tornadoes in Streator and Kouts. No fatalities have been reported.
• June 17–18 – Tropical Storm Arthur makes landfall near the shorelines of Texas and Louisiana, causing flash flooding and four fatalities.
• June 22–27 – A historic and intense heat dome brought a ferocious, life-threatening heatwave to Western and Central Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. Red weather alerts were widely issued across the continent as temperatures broke June records; Châteaumeillant, France recorded a peak temperature of 43.3 °C (109.9 °F), while parts of Spain were forecast to hit 44 °C (111 °F). The extreme heat caused dozens of direct fatalities, including over 40 drowning deaths in France as people sought relief from the stifling conditions.
• June 29 – Straight line winds of 131 mph (211 km/h) occurred in Highmore, South Dakota, the second highest wind gust from a thunderstorm wind gust ever recorded. These extreme winds occurred within a supercell. This likely occurred from a downburst. No fatalities have been reported from this event.

July

• July 2-15 – Typhoon Bavi forms 901 nmi (1,669 km; 1,037 mi) east-southeast of Kwajalein, where it began to undergo extreme rapid intensification tracking upwards from 157 to 194 km/h (98 to 121 mph) in a mere six-hour window. Bavi passed extremely close to the northern coast of the island of Rota early on July 6, becoming one of the strongest typhoons in history to affect the Northern Mariana Islands.
• July 3-15 – An intense ridge of high pressure triggers the third atmospheric heatwave of the year across southern England, pushing temperatures to 35 °C (95 °F). Simultaneously, an "extreme" Category 3 to 4 marine heatwave develops in the English Channel and North Sea, with sea surface temperatures spiking up to 5 °C (9.0 °F) above average. Temperatures peaked at 35°C (95°F) or higher during this stretch. This officially marked the first time in the UK's weather record that 35°C or higher was recorded across three consecutive months (May, June, and July) in a single year. By July 10, the Met Office recorded a record eight days exceeding 34°C, surpassing the historic summer benchmarks of 1976 and 2020. Red Health-Heat Alerts were issued across sections of England and Wales due to high humidity spiking the heat index and threatening critical transport and health infrastructure.
• July 5–7 – Severe Tropical Storm Maysak struck northeastern Vietnam and southern China, triggering catastrophic flooding across the Guangxi and Hubei provinces. The storm forced more than 130,000 evacuations and unleashed severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that caused widespread destruction, leaving at least 23 people dead and hundreds injured.
• July 6 - A powerful winter blocking high settles over Tasmania, recording a mean sea level pressure of 1,044.5 hPa (30.84 inHg) at Ouse. This provisionally breaks the record for the highest atmospheric pressure ever recorded in Australia, surpassing the previous record of 1,044.3 hPa set at Launceston on 7 June 1967.
• July 7-9 – Storm Bernadette, named by the Free University of Berlin, sweeps across Poland with 30 mm (1.2 in) of rain and 80 km/h (50 mph) winds. The storm breaks a regional heatwave but causes extensive hail damage to sugar beet crops in the Wielkopolska region, threatening Central European wholesale sugar prices and prompting early signals of government financial aid for farmers.
• July 7 - An exceptionally deep extratropical cyclone tracks across the South Atlantic Ocean, bringing destructive, hurricane-force winds to the remote island of Tristan da Cunha. An automatic weather station mounted at St Mary's School in Edinburgh of the Seven Seas records a peak wind gust of 200 km/h (124 mph; 108 kn). The storm causes widespread structural damage throughout the settlement; the official Residency suffers a partial roof collapse and heavy interior damage after being struck by a flying longboat torn from its tie-downs, while several other government and community buildings, including the island's biosecurity facility, are completely unroofed. No casualties are reported.
• July 8 – Intense monsoon downpours cause severe flash flooding and urban inundation across Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. The torrential rainfall triggers fatal structural collapses and a major landfill slide, causing multiple casualties and halting regional rail and road networks.
• July 14-15 - Violent thunderstorms, large hail, and torrential rain swept across southern Germany. Nuremberg, Fürth, and Reutlingen were hardest hit. Nuremberg emergency services fielded over 3,000 emergency calls in just five hours. The severe weather temporarily forced Nuremberg Airport to halt all flight operations due to a flooded airfield, downed trees, and roof damage.
• July 14–16 – Slow-moving thunderstorms dump up to 711 mm (28 in) of rain over south-central Texas, causing the Guadalupe River to rise 9 m (30 ft) in under three hours, resulting in two drowning deaths and over 230 water rescues.
• July 14–18 – A powerful, Category 5 atmospheric river impacts central Chile and the Andes mountain range, bringing a historic winter blizzard. The Chilean government issues emergency declarations for high-altitude transport corridors. Over a 48-hour peak period ending July 18, the Portillo, Chile ski resort records 2.7 metres (9 feet) of snow, while Valle Nevado logs 1.6 metres (over 5 feet) of snowfall, forcing a total suspension of mountain operations due to severe avalanche risks.

See also

• Weather of 2025
• Weather of 2024
• Weather of 2023

References

Global weather by year
Preceded by 2025	Weather of 2026	Succeeded by 2027