Hurricane Calendar · On this day

Hurricanes on December 21 in history (1842 to 2026)

207 storms on record were active on December 21 between 1857 and 2025. On this date 37 formed, 9 reached their peak recorded wind, 17 came ashore and 21 ended. The strongest storm active on December 21 was Typhoon Paka (1997), with a peak 1-minute sustained wind of 160 kt (184 mph), recorded by NHC.

Dates are calendar dates in UTC. Typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm as hurricanes, named by region. Archive of September 29, 2026.

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Recorded trackCame ashore on December 21Tracks of the 80 storms that formed, peaked, came ashore or ended on December 21, from NOAA best-track records. Simplified outlines.

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Cyclone Amara (2013–14)

Peak recorded wind: December 21, 2013, 00:00 UTC. Peak: 110 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France). Southwest Indian, Dec 14 to 28, 2013.

In Hurricane Calendar, replay Amara along its recorded track, with the wind at each step and the agency that measured it.

Came ashore on December 21

17 storms, most recent first. Recorded landfalls come from the National Hurricane Center's best track; elsewhere a coast crossing is estimated from the track and labelled.

Year	Storm	Ocean	Where and when	Wind at landfall	Record
2017	Typhoon Tembin	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 7.9°N, 126.7°E December 21, 2017, 18:00 UTC	50 kt (58 mph), 10-minute, JMA	Estimated from the track
2009	Cyclone Laurence	Australian region	Coast crossing (estimated) near 19.5°S, 120.6°E December 21, 2009, 06:00 UTC	110 kt (127 mph), 10-minute, BoM	Estimated from the track
1994	Typhoon Axel	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 10.9°N, 125.3°E December 21, 1994, 12:00 UTC	75 kt (86 mph), 10-minute, JMA	Estimated from the track
1988	Cyclone Eseta	South Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 21.9°S, 165.4°E December 21, 1988, 00:00 UTC	30 kt (35 mph), 10-minute, MetService NZ	Estimated from the track
1986	Cyclone Patsy	South Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 40.5°S, 171.7°E December 21, 1986, 12:00 UTC	40 kt (46 mph), 10-minute, MetService NZ	Estimated from the track
1986	Typhoon Marge	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 9.5°N, 126.2°E December 21, 1986, 09:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1981	Unnamed cyclone · 1981	Australian region	Coast crossing (estimated) near 12.2°S, 131.7°E December 21, 1981, 06:00 UTC	25 kt (29 mph), 10-minute, BoM	Estimated from the track
1979	Tropical storm Ben	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 11.5°N, 125.9°E December 21, 1979, 06:00 UTC	40 kt (46 mph), 10-minute, JMA	Estimated from the track
1974	Tropical storm Kit	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 11.3°N, 119.9°E December 21, 1974, 12:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1961	Storm Ada	Southwest Indian	Coast crossing (estimated) near 15.7°S, 45.9°E December 21, 1961, 03:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1959	Typhoon Gilda	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 12.0°N, 109.6°E December 21, 1959, 09:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1956	Unnamed storm · 1956	Australian region → South Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 26.1°S, 153.5°E December 21, 1956, 21:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1952	Typhoon Gloria	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 12.3°N, 122.0°E December 21, 1952, 09:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1936	Unnamed storm · 1936	Southwest Indian	Coast crossing (estimated) near 15.6°S, 45.5°E December 21, 1936, 15:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1924	Unnamed storm · 1924	Western Pacific	Coast crossing (estimated) near 12.3°N, 121.8°E December 21, 1924, 00:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1920	Unnamed storm · 1920	Australian region	Coast crossing (estimated) near 11.1°S, 132.3°E December 21, 1920, 06:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track
1899	Unnamed storm · 1899	Southwest Indian	Coast crossing (estimated) near 21.7°S, 42.9°E December 21, 1899, 12:00 UTC	Not recorded	Estimated from the track

Formed on December 21

37 storms had their first recorded position on this date.

Season	Storm	Ocean	First position	Peak
1996	Tropical storm Greg	Western Pacific	7.8°N, 110.0°E	45 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1981	Typhoon Lee	Western Pacific	6.5°N, 148.5°E	80 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2014–15	Cyclone Kate	Australian region → Southwest Indian	7.5°S, 100.5°E	90 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2004–05	Cyclone Chambo	Australian region → Southwest Indian	5.9°S, 94.6°E	85 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1992–93	Cyclone Nina	Australian region → South Pacific	12.7°S, 142.7°E	85 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2002–03	Cyclone Crystal	Southwest Indian	6.8°S, 69.5°E	80 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1986–87	Cyclone Raja	South Pacific	7.0°S, 177.0°W	80 kt · 10-minute (MetService NZ)
1998–99	Cyclone Cora	South Pacific	14.0°S, 173.5°W	80 kt · 10-minute (FMS)
1982–83	Cyclone Dadafy	Southwest Indian	8.9°S, 60.1°E	52 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
2022–23	Cyclone Ellie	Australian region	10.4°S, 128.3°E	40 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1988	Tropical storm Val	Western Pacific	5.0°N, 141.5°E	45 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2004–05	Cyclone Judy	South Pacific	16.0°S, 144.2°W	45 kt · 10-minute (FMS)
2024	Tropical storm Pabuk	Western Pacific	10.1°N, 115.3°E	35 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2008–09	Unnamed tropical depression · 2008	Australian region	13.7°S, 138.3°E	30 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1998–99	Unnamed cyclone · 1998	South Pacific	20.4°S, 150.1°W	50 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)

Show 22 more storms

Season	Storm	Ocean	First position	Peak
2002	Unnamed cyclone · 2002	North Indian	4.0°N, 77.0°E	35 kt · 3-minute (IMD)
2015–16	Unnamed tropical depression · 2015	Australian region	15.6°S, 135.7°E	30 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1983	Unnamed tropical depression · 1983	North Indian	7.5°N, 81.0°E	25 kt · 3-minute (IMD)
1942–43	Unnamed storm · 1942	Australian region	18.0°S, 119.0°E	Not recorded
1956–57	Unnamed storm · 1956	Australian region → South Pacific	26.3°S, 153.5°E	Not recorded
1944–45	Unnamed storm · 1944	Southwest Indian	14.3°S, 52.0°E	Not recorded
1916–17	Unnamed storm · 1916	Southwest Indian	10.2°S, 59.4°E	Not recorded
1915–16	Unnamed storm · 1915	Australian region	12.7°S, 128.5°E	Not recorded
1897–98	Unnamed storm · 1897	Australian region	18.1°S, 115.1°E	Not recorded
1875–76	Unnamed storm · 1875	Southwest Indian	18.9°S, 64.9°E	Not recorded
1973	Unnamed storm · 1973	Western Pacific	0.5°N, 152.0°E	Not recorded
1962–63	Unnamed storm · 1962	South Pacific	17.3°S, 175.0°W	Not recorded
1938–39	Unnamed storm · 1938	Southwest Indian	7.0°S, 72.2°E	Not recorded
1934–35	Unnamed storm · 1934	Southwest Indian	7.4°S, 72.0°E	Not recorded
1928–29	Unnamed storm · 1928	Australian region	6.8°S, 96.6°E	Not recorded
1921–22	Unnamed storm · 1921	Southwest Indian	14.2°S, 69.1°E	Not recorded
1913	Unnamed storm · 1913	Western Pacific	5.0°N, 140.7°E	Not recorded
1898–99	Unnamed storm · 1898	Southwest Indian	16.7°S, 43.3°E	Not recorded
1897–98	Unnamed storm · 1897	Southwest Indian	10.4°S, 62.5°E	Not recorded
1885–86	Unnamed storm · 1885	Southwest Indian	9.9°S, 68.0°E	Not recorded
1861–62	Unnamed storm · 1861	Southwest Indian	5.4°S, 86.8°E	Not recorded
1857–58	Unnamed storm · 1857	Southwest Indian	6.4°S, 85.9°E	Not recorded

Reached peak wind on December 21

9 storms recorded their highest wind on this date, as the responsible agency measured it.

Season	Storm	Ocean	Peak wind	Lowest pressure
2022–23	Cyclone Darian	Australian region → Southwest Indian	125 kt (144 mph), 10-minute, BoM	915 hPa (BoM)
2018–19	Cyclone Cilida	Southwest Indian	115 kt (132 mph), 10-minute, Météo-France	940 hPa (Météo-France)
2013–14	Cyclone Amara	Southwest Indian	110 kt (127 mph), 10-minute, Météo-France	935 hPa (Météo-France)
1986	Typhoon Marge	Western Pacific	85 kt (98 mph), 10-minute, JMA	950 hPa (JMA)
1991–92	Cyclone Alexandra	Southwest Indian	56 kt (64 mph), 10-minute, Météo-France	972 hPa (Météo-France)
1979	Tropical storm Ben	Western Pacific	45 kt (52 mph), 10-minute, JMA	994 hPa (JMA)
2016–17	Cyclone Yvette	Australian region	45 kt (52 mph), 10-minute, BoM	987 hPa (BoM)
1987	Unnamed tropical depression · 1987	North Indian	30 kt (35 mph), 3-minute, IMD	Not recorded
1983	Unnamed tropical depression · 1983	North Indian	25 kt (29 mph), 3-minute, IMD	Not recorded

Ended on December 21

21 storms had their last recorded position on this date.

Season	Storm	Ocean	Last position	Dates
2021	Typhoon Rai	Western Pacific	21.7°N, 116.5°E	Dec 11 to 21, 2021
2020–21	Cyclone Yasa	South Pacific	25.2°S, 179.4°W	Dec 11 to 21, 2020
1976–77	Cyclone Ted	Australian region	20.7°S, 141.0°E	Dec 15 to 21, 1976
1993–94	Cyclone Cecilia	Southwest Indian	22.8°S, 54.7°E	Dec 11 to 21, 1993
1967	Tropical storm Ivy	Western Pacific	11.5°N, 135.5°E	Dec 16 to 21, 1967
1976–77	Cyclone Harry	Australian region → Southwest Indian	17.1°S, 80.4°E	Dec 15 to 21, 1976
1972	Tropical storm Violet	Western Pacific	7.0°N, 147.5°E	Dec 11 to 21, 1972
1969	Tropical storm Marie	Western Pacific	19.5°N, 148.8°E	Dec 18 to 21, 1969
2005	Unnamed tropical storm · 2005	Western Pacific	7.9°N, 106.3°E	Dec 15 to 21, 2005
1979–80	Cyclone Berenice	Southwest Indian	37.0°S, 78.0°E	Dec 15 to 21, 1979

Show 11 more storms

Season	Storm	Ocean	Last position	Dates
1996	Unnamed tropical depression · 1996	Western Pacific	5.2°N, 104.8°E	Dec 12 to 21, 1996
2024	Unnamed tropical depression · 2024	North Indian	14.1°N, 84.6°E	Dec 20 to 21, 2024
1964–65	Storm Connie	Southwest Indian	33.8°S, 51.4°E	Dec 17 to 21, 1964
1958–59	Unnamed storm · 1958	Southwest Indian	31.4°S, 49.0°E	Dec 17 to 21, 1958
1941	Unnamed storm · 1941	Western Pacific	20.2°N, 116.7°E	Dec 12 to 21, 1941
1911–12	Unnamed storm · 1911	Southwest Indian	16.1°S, 48.9°E	Dec 16 to 21, 1911
1907–08	Unnamed storm · 1907	Southwest Indian	25.3°S, 49.3°E	Dec 11 to 21, 1907
1971	Unnamed storm · 1971	North Indian	19.4°N, 61.2°E	Dec 14 to 21, 1971
1949–50	Unnamed storm · 1949	South Pacific	29.9°S, 164.0°W	Dec 15 to 21, 1949
1914	Unnamed storm · 1914	North Indian	16.6°N, 87.8°E	Dec 19 to 21, 1914
1912	Unnamed storm · 1912	Western Pacific	30.6°N, 135.7°E	Dec 16 to 21, 1912

Also active on December 21

127 more storms were active on this date, the most notable first. Storms listed above are not repeated.

Season	Storm	Ocean	Dates	Peak
1997	Typhoon Paka	Central Pacific → Western Pacific	Nov 28 to Dec 23, 1997	100 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2019	Typhoon Phanfone	Western Pacific	Dec 19 to 29, 2019	80 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1974–75	Cyclone Tracy	Australian region	Dec 20 to 26, 1974	95 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1971–72	Cyclone Althea	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 19 to 30, 1971	90 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1993	Tropical storm Nell	Western Pacific	Dec 18, 1993 to Jan 1, 1994	60 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2016	Typhoon Nock-Ten	Western Pacific	Dec 20 to 28, 2016	105 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2001	Typhoon Faxai	Western Pacific	Dec 13 to 26, 2001	105 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2006–07	Cyclone Bondo	Southwest Indian	Dec 15 to 28, 2006	110 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1997–98	Cyclone Susan	South Pacific	Dec 20, 1997 to Jan 10, 1998	125 kt · 10-minute (FMS)
2013–14	Cyclone Bruce	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 16 to 25, 2013	120 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1953	Typhoon Doris	Western Pacific	Dec 9 to 23, 1953	150 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1989–90	Cyclone Alibera	Southwest Indian	Dec 14, 1989 to Jan 7, 1990	72 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
2012–13	Cyclone Evan	South Pacific	Dec 10 to 27, 2012	100 kt · 10-minute (FMS)
1981	Typhoon Kit	Western Pacific	Dec 9 to 22, 1981	100 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1990	Typhoon Russ	Western Pacific	Dec 13 to 24, 1990	100 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1963	Typhoon Susan	Western Pacific	Dec 18 to 29, 1963	135 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1979–80	Cyclone Claudette	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 9 to 28, 1979	110 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1989	Typhoon Jack	Western Pacific	Dec 20 to 29, 1989	95 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2008–09	Cyclone Billy	Australian region	Dec 16, 2008 to Jan 4, 2009	95 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2018–19	Cyclone Kenanga	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 14 to 24, 2018	40 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1977	Typhoon Mary	Western Pacific	Dec 18, 1977 to Jan 8, 1978	85 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1990–91	Cyclone Joy	South Pacific → Australian region	Dec 15 to 27, 1990	90 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1980–81	Cyclone Carol	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 13 to 24, 1980	110 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2025–26	Cyclone Grant	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 18, 2025 to Jan 6, 2026	119 kt · 1-minute (Real-time)
1981–82	Cyclone Gyan	South Pacific	Dec 18 to 29, 1981	100 kt · 10-minute (MetService NZ)

Show 102 more storms

Season	Storm	Ocean	Dates	Peak
1996–97	Cyclone Fergus	South Pacific → Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 19, 1996 to Jan 1, 1997	80 kt · 10-minute (FMS)
1986	Typhoon Norris	Western Pacific	Dec 19, 1986 to Jan 3, 1987	85 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1978–79	Cyclone Angele	Southwest Indian	Dec 13, 1978 to Jan 5, 1979	82 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1984–85	Cyclone Frank	Australian region	Dec 19 to 28, 1984	85 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2018–19	Cyclone Owen	Australian region	Nov 30 to Dec 22, 2018	85 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1983–84	Cyclone Bakoly	Southwest Indian	Dec 19 to 31, 1983	92 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1985	Typhoon Hope	Western Pacific	Dec 13 to 25, 1985	90 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1981–82	Cyclone Benedicte	Southwest Indian	Dec 17 to 25, 1981	72 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1995–96	Cyclone Gertie	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 14 to 24, 1995	75 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1989–90	Cyclone Felicity	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 12 to 22, 1989	75 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2020–21	Cyclone Chalane	Southwest Indian	Dec 20, 2020 to Jan 4, 2021	60 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
2003–04	Cyclone Debbie	Australian region	Dec 16 to 23, 2003	65 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1984	Hurricane Lili	Atlantic	Dec 12 to 24, 1984	Category 1 · Saffir-Simpson (NHC)
2003–04	Cyclone Cela	Southwest Indian	Dec 4 to 22, 2003	65 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1973–74	Cyclone Dalida	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 20, 1973 to Jan 6, 1974	80 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1996	Tropical storm Fern	Western Pacific	Dec 17 to 30, 1996	60 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2019–20	Cyclone Calvinia	Southwest Indian	Dec 17, 2019 to Jan 3, 2020	65 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1973–74	Cyclone Una	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 14 to 22, 1973	55 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1983–84	Cyclone Esther	Australian region	Dec 18 to 24, 1983	50 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1980	Tropical storm Ed	Western Pacific	Dec 14 to 24, 1980	45 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2017	Tropical storm Kai-Tak	Western Pacific	Dec 12 to 23, 2017	40 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1996–97	Cyclone Ophelia	Australian region	Dec 13 to 27, 1996	55 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1994	Tropical storm Bobbie	Western Pacific	Dec 14 to 29, 1994	50 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1985	Tropical storm Irving	Western Pacific	Dec 13 to 22, 1985	50 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
2008–09	Cyclone Cinda	Southwest Indian	Dec 13 to 24, 2008	50 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
2009–10	Cyclone David	Southwest Indian	Dec 12 to 31, 2009	45 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
2004	Tropical storm Noru	Western Pacific	Dec 16 to 23, 2004	40 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1965	Tropical storm Gloria	Western Pacific → North Indian	Dec 18 to 23, 1965	40 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
2020	Tropical storm Krovanh	Western Pacific → North Indian	Dec 17 to 25, 2020	35 kt · 10-minute (JMA)
1977–78	Cyclone Celimene	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 13 to 23, 1977	50 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2007–08	Cyclone Dama	Southwest Indian	Dec 17 to 24, 2007	35 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
2010	Tropical storm Omeka	Central Pacific → Western Pacific → Central Pacific	Dec 16 to 22, 2010	45 kt · 1-minute (NHC)
1992–93	Cyclone Ken	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 17 to 24, 1992	40 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1992	Unnamed cyclone · 1992	North Indian	Dec 18 to 24, 1992	50 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
2007–08	Cyclone Celina	Southwest Indian	Dec 11 to 23, 2007	40 kt · 10-minute (Météo-France)
1980–81	Cyclone Edna	Australian region	Dec 20 to 27, 1980	40 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1963	Tropical storm Rita	Western Pacific	Dec 15 to 22, 1963	40 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1966–67	Cyclone Clara	Southwest Indian	Dec 19, 1966 to Jan 2, 1967	40 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1962–63	Cyclone Cecile	Southwest Indian	Dec 16 to 29, 1962	35 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1978–79	Unnamed cyclone · 1978	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 26, 1978	55 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
2016–17	Unnamed tropical depression · 2016	Australian region	Dec 18 to 23, 2016	30 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
2011–12	Unnamed cyclone · 2011	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 20 to 25, 2011	45 kt · 10-minute (BoM)
1965–66	Storm Amanda	Australian region	Dec 20, 1965 to Jan 2, 1966	Not recorded
2005	Unnamed tropical depression · 2005	North Indian	Dec 14 to 24, 2005	30 kt · 3-minute (IMD)
1971–72	Storm Agnes	Southwest Indian	Dec 9 to 24, 1971	Not recorded
1966–67	Storm Colette	Southwest Indian	Dec 11 to 22, 1966	Not recorded
1961–62	Storm Beryl	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 28, 1961	Not recorded
2005–06	Unnamed cyclone · 2005	Southwest Indian → Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 17 to 29, 2005	35 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1968–69	Storm Amber	Australian region → Southwest Indian → Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 15 to 24, 1968	Not recorded
1987–88	Unnamed cyclone · 1987	South Pacific	Dec 18 to 22, 1987	35 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1960–61	Unnamed storm · 1960	Australian region	Dec 14 to 24, 1960	Not recorded
1970–71	Storm Janet	Australian region → Southwest Indian	Dec 19 to 25, 1970	Not recorded
1998	Unnamed tropical depression · 1998	Western Pacific	Dec 18 to 22, 1998	30 kt · 1-minute (JTWC)
1956–57	Unnamed storm · 1956	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 16 to 26, 1956	Not recorded
1959–60	Unnamed storm · 1959	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 19 to 31, 1959	Not recorded
1973–74	Storm Christiane	Southwest Indian	Dec 13 to 22, 1973	Not recorded
1972–73	Storm Beatrice	Southwest Indian	Dec 7 to 25, 1972	Not recorded
1970–71	Storm Dominique	Southwest Indian	Dec 11 to 28, 1970	Not recorded
1968–69	Storm Beatie	Australian region	Dec 18 to 24, 1968	Not recorded
1967–68	Storm Belinda	Southwest Indian	Dec 8 to 23, 1967	Not recorded
1967–68	Storm Carmen	Southwest Indian	Dec 19 to 28, 1967	Not recorded
1964	Unnamed storm · 1964	North Indian	Dec 17 to 24, 1964	Not recorded
1952–53	Unnamed storm · 1952	Southwest Indian	Dec 18 to 22, 1952	Not recorded
1951–52	Unnamed storm · 1951	South Pacific	Dec 19, 1951 to Jan 3, 1952	Not recorded
1950–51	Unnamed storm · 1950	Southwest Indian	Dec 18 to 28, 1950	Not recorded
1948–49	Unnamed storm · 1948	Southwest Indian	Dec 14 to 27, 1948	Not recorded
1943	Unnamed storm · 1943	Western Pacific	Dec 17 to 22, 1943	Not recorded
1940	Unnamed storm · 1940	Western Pacific	Dec 8 to 24, 1940	Not recorded
1939	Unnamed storm · 1939	Western Pacific	Dec 16 to 24, 1939	Not recorded
1935	Unnamed storm · 1935	Western Pacific	Dec 16 to 24, 1935	Not recorded
1931–32	Unnamed storm · 1931	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 24, 1931	Not recorded
1926–27	Unnamed storm · 1926	Australian region	Dec 18 to 23, 1926	Not recorded
1920–21	Unnamed storm · 1920	Australian region	Dec 17 to 25, 1920	Not recorded
1899–00	Unnamed storm · 1899	Southwest Indian	Dec 10 to 23, 1899	Not recorded
1899–00	Unnamed storm · 1899	Southwest Indian	Dec 10 to 24, 1899	Not recorded
1886	Unnamed storm · 1886	Western Pacific	Dec 16 to 23, 1886	Not recorded
1974–75	Unnamed storm · 1974	South Pacific	Dec 18 to 24, 1974	Not recorded
1969	Unnamed storm · 1969	North Indian	Dec 20 to 26, 1969	Not recorded
1964–65	Unnamed storm · 1964	South Pacific	Dec 20 to 22, 1964	Not recorded
1963–64	Unnamed storm · 1963	South Pacific	Dec 17 to 22, 1963	Not recorded
1955–56	Unnamed storm · 1955	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 25, 1955	Not recorded
1954–55	Unnamed storm · 1954	Australian region → South Pacific	Dec 19 to 22, 1954	Not recorded
1947	Unnamed storm · 1947	North Indian	Dec 19 to 22, 1947	Not recorded
1940	Unnamed storm · 1940	North Indian	Dec 20 to 22, 1940	Not recorded
1938–39	Unnamed storm · 1938	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 23, 1938	Not recorded
1934–35	Unnamed storm · 1934	Southwest Indian	Dec 18 to 25, 1934	Not recorded
1934–35	Unnamed storm · 1934	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 28, 1934	Not recorded
1931–32	Unnamed storm · 1931	Australian region	Dec 20 to 26, 1931	Not recorded
1930	Unnamed storm · 1930	North Indian	Dec 20 to 22, 1930	Not recorded
1930–31	Unnamed storm · 1930	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 22, 1930	Not recorded
1928–29	Unnamed storm · 1928	Australian region	Dec 20 to 24, 1928	Not recorded
1923	Unnamed storm · 1923	North Indian	Dec 17 to 22, 1923	Not recorded
1921–22	Unnamed storm · 1921	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 24, 1921	Not recorded
1920–21	Unnamed storm · 1920	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 26, 1920	Not recorded
1907–08	Unnamed storm · 1907	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 27, 1907	Not recorded
1906–07	Unnamed storm · 1906	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 22, 1906	Not recorded
1905–06	Unnamed storm · 1905	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 23, 1905	Not recorded
1902–03	Unnamed storm · 1902	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 25, 1902	Not recorded
1885–86	Unnamed storm · 1885	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 28, 1885	Not recorded
1879–80	Unnamed storm · 1879	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 26, 1879	Not recorded
1861–62	Unnamed storm · 1861	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 25, 1861	Not recorded
1861–62	Unnamed storm · 1861	Southwest Indian	Dec 20 to 31, 1861	Not recorded

Questions about December 21

What is the strongest storm on record on December 21?

Of the storms active on December 21, Typhoon Paka (1997) had the highest peak wind recorded by a U.S. agency: 160 kt (184 mph), 1-minute sustained (NHC). That is the storm's peak over its whole life, which may fall on another day. Agencies that average wind over 10 minutes report lower numbers for the same storm.

Has a storm ever made landfall on December 21?

Yes. 17 storms on record came ashore on December 21. The most recent was Typhoon Tembin (2017): coast crossing (estimated) near 7.9°N, 126.7°E. Some coast crossings are estimated from the track, and each one is labelled.

How many storms were active on December 21?

207 storms on record were active on December 21, in 111 different years from 1857 to 2025. The count uses calendar dates in UTC and covers every ocean basin in NOAA's IBTrACS archive and the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2.

Replay every December 21 storm on its track. See the whole track, the wind at each step and the agency that measured it, on your phone.

Get it on Google Play

Sources. Storm tracks and events from NOAA's best-track archives, exactly as the Hurricane Calendar app shows them. Dates are calendar dates in UTC. Each wind speed keeps the agency that recorded it and its averaging period; nothing is converted between agencies. A missing value is shown as not recorded, never as zero. Storms that may still have been active when the archive was updated are left out.

International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) v04r01, all basins (CSV), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Retrieved 2026-09-26.
HURDAT2 Atlantic hurricane database, 1851-2025 (released 2026-09-12), NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC). Retrieved 2026-09-26.
HURDAT2 Northeast and North Central Pacific hurricane database, 1949-2025 (released 2026-09-14), NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC). Retrieved 2026-09-26.