Cyclones in Zimbabwe
Cyclones only occur occasionally in Zimbabwe. On average, they happen about 2 times a year. The hardest hit regions are Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Masvingo.The typical cyclone season depends on the summer monsoon. In the months before (May to June) and after (October to November), the most severe storms occur.
The most severe cyclone to make landfall in Zimbabwe in the past 12 months was »Freddy«. It reached a wind speed of up to 74 km/h on March 13, 2023 at 5:00 am local time near Nyanga and was 106 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a tropical storm cyclone. On the open sea, speeds of up to 183 km/h were measured (category 3).
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Back to overview: Zimbabwe
Current satellite image of the Indian Ocean
08.06.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison
Most violent cyclones in Zimbabwe since 2018
Freddy: March 2-14, 2023
Wind speed:
max. 183 km/h
on land:
max. 74 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 957 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Manicaland
Mashonaland East
Manicaland
Mashonaland East
Freddy: February 6-24, 2023
Wind speed:
max. 256 km/h
Diameter:
max. 582 km
Air pressure:
below 924 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Zimbabwe. On February 24th, 2023 at 8:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 303 km southwest of Chipinge in Manicaland.
Gombe: March 8-14, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 183 km/h
on land:
max. 46 km/h
Diameter:
max. 630 km
Air pressure:
below 959 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Mashonaland East
Manicaland
Mashonaland East
Manicaland
Ana: January 23-25, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 93 km/h
on land:
max. 37 km/h
Diameter:
max. 148 km
Air pressure:
below 993 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Mashonaland East
Mashonaland East
Guambe: February 11-22, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 161 km/h
on land:
max. 69 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1185 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 957 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Masvingo
Manicaland
Masvingo
Manicaland
Eloise: January 11-27, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 157 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1259 km
Eye:
max. 148 km
Air pressure:
below 965 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Manicaland
Masvingo
Matabeleland South
Manicaland
Masvingo
Matabeleland South
Chalane: December 25-30, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 111 km/h
Diameter:
max. 241 km
Air pressure:
below 990 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Zimbabwe. On December 30th, 2020 at 2:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 309 km west of Chimanimani in Manicaland.
Chalane: December 20, 2020 to January 4, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 124 km/h
on land:
max. 74 km/h
Diameter:
max. 982 km
Air pressure:
below 975 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Manicaland
Mashonaland East
Midlands
Matabeleland North
Matabeleland South
Manicaland
Mashonaland East
Midlands
Matabeleland North
Matabeleland South
Idai: March 4-16, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 213 km/h
on land:
max. 115 km/h
Diameter:
max. 185 km
Eye:
max. 167 km
Air pressure:
below 940 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Manicaland
Mashonaland East
Manicaland
Mashonaland East
Desmond: January 17-22, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 296 km
Air pressure:
below 989 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall in Zimbabwe. On January 22nd, 2019 at 2:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 273 km west of Nyanga in Manicaland.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Inhambane in Mozambique on January 19th at 8:00 am.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Inhambane in Mozambique on January 19th at 8:00 am.
These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.
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