12 of the Craziest Storms in History

Bhola Cyclone (1970) — East Pakistan, West Bengal

This was the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded. The Bhola Cyclone ripped into East Pakistan and then into West Bengal on November 12th, 1970. More than 300,000 people were killed, with some estimates suggesting that the true death toll was upwards of 500,000 people.

The storm surge alone wiped out entire villages, with the most severely impacted area being Tazumuddin in Bangladesh, which lost more than 45% of its people in the district of Thana alone—a death toll of 167,000. Wind speeds capped out at the 225.3 km/h mark. Although not one for surfing, it is one of the world's most devastating natural disasters.

Galveston Hurricane (1900) — US

The Galveston Hurricane was a catastrophic cyclone that tore across Texas, Louisiana, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mississippi, with wind speeds of up to 233 km/h. This hurricane made landfall in the Dominican Republic as a much weaker tropical storm on September 2, 1900. It intensified significantly before peaking as a Category 4 hurricane on September 8.

This storm also brought significant flooding and severe thunderstorms across the Caribbean and storm surges to a large portion of Texas, with Galveston getting the brunt of it—hence the name of the hurricane. Damage from the storm is estimated at $1.25 billion in today's dollars.

Hurricane Ivan (2004) — Gulf of Mexico

In the early 2000s, Hurricane Ivan brought massive waves along the Florida Panhandle before making landfall and causing widespread destruction. The storm was so powerful that a buoy near Ivan's eye recorded a 91-foot wave out to sea. Ivan intensified in the warmer waters of the Gulf, allowing it to build significant energy. And as above, with energy comes wind, and with wind comes waves—these swells filtered into the coastline, creating powerful surf—and surfable ones at Texas' Bob Hall Pier.

As with all massive hurricanes, there's the dichotomy: On the one hand, novelty waves can come to life, and long-dormant surf spots have their day. On the other hand, these storms inevitably cause widespread destruction. Ivan was the worst hurricane to hit the US in 50 years, making it a true 50-year storm.

Hurricane Katrina (2005) — Caribbean, US

Hurricane Katrina is one of the most memorable and catastrophic hurricanes in recent history, causing $125 billion in damage. Hurricane Katrina struck the southern US in late August 2005, claiming 1,400 lives. Katrina originally formed in the Caribbean before moving into the Gulf and then sweeping north, then east across the US.

Katrina's first landfall was on August 25, between Miami and Florida, with sustained winds of 128.7 km/h—and with it, some epic surf along Florida's Gulf Coast, described by Surfline at the time as: “Arguably the best day of surf this summer in all of Florida, with  waves in the head high to a few feet overhead range  with offshore winds.”

North Pacific Storm (2008) — Cortes Bank

This was not a named storm, but in 2008, off the coast of San Diego, a powerful storm formed in the middle of the ocean. Swell from this North Pacific storm went into overdrive, sending insane waves to Cortes Bank. In January 2008, Mike Parsons, Brad Gerlach and Ken Collins went out to tackle the remote, deep-water seamount wave, with Mike riding a 77-foot wave, all thanks to that storm raging out at sea.

What you may not know is that this swell was due to several factors, but the main one was a huge storm in the Gulf of Alaska. This, combined with the edge of a high-pressure system over California, helped create this monster wave at Cortes Bank.

One Monster Storm (2011) — Southern Pacific

Code Red—this storm was one of the most jaw-dropping surfing spectacles in history. Teahupo'o had already exploded onto the scene a decade before, but it hadn't been seen quite like this. The Code Red swell started out as a massive storm in the southern Pacific Ocean and traveled thousands of miles heading northward, sending south swell straight into the End of the Road. The name Code Red comes from Tahiti's government prohibiting water activity for 24 hours when this colossal swell arrived on August 27. The session is legendary and goes to show that, of course, not all storms need to be named to create historic surf conditions.

In July 2022, the next Code Red swell hit, though not as big as the first; it was named Code Red II because the Tahitian authorities once again banned entry into the water. Yours truly was working as the global managing editor of MSW at the time, and reports from surfers were clear: "We don't care if we get fined; we're going out there."

Atlantic Storm Hercules (January 2014) — North Atlantic

Commonly mislabeled as a hurricane, this gigantic North Atlantic storm was absolutely bonkers for the North Atlantic. Mysto spots that rarely saw the light of day lit up, catching a lot of surfers off guard. Hercules dominated the North Atlantic, which is probably why people get it confused with a hurricane. This storm combined big swell with gigantic high tides, sending 30-to-40-foot waves into the coast of the UK and Ireland.

Unsurfable for the open beachbreaks, but if you knew where to look just around the corner, there was plenty of opportunity. Hercules went on to send giant swell to most of Europe's western regions, causing significant damage in Portugal. The pressure dropped to 933 mb, which is extremely low on the scale, the lowest recorded by Hurricane Wilma at 882 mb in 2005.

Mid-Latitude Storm (January 2016) — North Pacific

A gigantic, unnamed storm in the North Pacific produced one of the most historic sessions in surfing history. This storm was one of a series of El Niño-fueled storms that raged into Hawaii during the 2015–2016 winter. It created the January 2016 session that defined what was possible at Jaws, when Aaron Gold paddled into a 63-foot behemoth of a wave—earning him the Guinness World Record for biggest wave ever paddled. “That day was really special and I don’t know that I’ll ever get to see another day like that in my life,” Aaron told Freesurf Magazine in an interview.

Hurricane Epsilon (2020) — North Atlantic

This was one of the biggest surf sessions ever and set another world record. Sometimes, hurricanes can form up in the Caribbean, travel up the east coast of the US, then boomerang back toward Western Europe. These storms weaken and then intensify over the Atlantic, sending huge surf to spots all along European coastlines. Epsilon is a prime example of this.

After spinning across the US East Coast, it made a beeline for Portugal, delivering one of the most memorable sessions at Nazaré of all time. All eyes were glued to a wave surfed by Lucas Chumbo. But it was an 83-foot monster, surfed by Sebastian Steudtner, that took the crown for the then-biggest wave ever surfed—a record he'd hold for four years.

Hurricane Teddy (2020) — Caribbean

Teddy strengthened into a formidable Category 4 hurricane as it moved across the Western Atlantic. This hurricane, combined with high pressure, then went on to produce some epic surf for the whole of the US East Coast and Caribbean. Hurricane swells are always a tough gig to be in the right spot at the right time, but with Teddy, it felt as if you could pop your finger on the East Coast, go there, and score. We're exaggerating a bit, but Teddy actually helped mark 2020 as one of the most memorable hurricane seasons in history.

Unnamed Storm (February 2024) — North Atlantic

Remember Epsilon a few paragraphs ago? A big, much-hyped, named storm. Enter this storm. Bigger, no name and meaner than Epsilon. This storm ended up producing as close as we have ever gotten to someone surfing a 100-foot wave. It was February 2024, and the North Atlantic was alive with swell. A storm on the charts was sandwiched between Hurricane Jocelyn in January and Hurricane Kathleen in April. It produced 70-foot seas and, once again, big wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner broke his own record for the biggest wave ever surfed—a 93-foot towering, Nazaré bomb.

Have we missed any? Let us know in the comments, and we'll add them to the list. Or DM me, @jaselock on Instagram.