Weather of 2026

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.

Deadliest events

Deadliest meteorological events during 2026
Rank Event Date(s) Deaths (+Missing) Refs
1 Storm Francis December 31 – January 9 8 [1]
2 Storm Goretti January 6–10 2 [2][3]
3 Tropical Storm Nokaen January 13-present 2
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Types

Tornadoes

January

January 4: A tornado struck the Frattocchie area in Marino after reportedly coming from the sea. 30 trees were downed, and several structures and vehicles sustained damage. No injuries were reported, but the unexpected nature of the tornado led to many residents being caught off-guard. The tornado travelled 2.9 miles (4.7 km) and reached a maximum width of 77 yards (70 m). The tornado was rated as an IF1.5 on the International Fujita Scale.[4][5][6][7]

January 8: A small tornado event occurred in Oklahoma early on January 8, with 5 tornadoes being confirmed, one of which was rated EF2 after it tore the roof off of a house southwest of Purcell.[8][9] This tornado caused one injury along its path when it rolled a semi-truck as it crossed Interstate 35 in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.[10][11] The storms also brought a 88 mph (142 km/h) wind gust to Wynona, Oklahoma and a 81 mph (130 km/h) wind gust to Independence, Kansas.[12]

January 8: A significant tornado struck the town of Kalpaki, Greece. The tornado destroyed a farm killing 30,000-40,000 chicken. Two other buildings were heavily damaged, with partially collapsed walls, the tornado was rated as an IF2 tornado on the International Fujita Scale[13][14]

January 10: 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 1200 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.[15][16]

Tropical and subtropical cyclones

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

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.[17] 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.[18] The storm brought wind gusts of up to 90 km/h along the northern coast of the Netherlands.[19] In Sweden, Meteorologists recorded extreme accumulations, with up to 50 centimetres (nearly 20 inches) of snow falling in parts of central Sweden on New Year's Day and January 2, leaving thousands of households without power.[20] 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.[21] 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 kilometres.[22]

Wildfires

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

Victorian Bushfires

On January 7, extreme conditions in Victoria, Australia allowed for a massive fire outbreak, burning over 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres), destroying over 300 structures, and resulting in one death.[23][24]

Timeline

January

See also

References

  1. ^ Meteorología, Agencia Estatal de. "Borrascas y danas con gran impacto de la temporada 2025-2026 - Agencia Estatal de Meteorología - AEMET. Gobierno de España". www.aemet.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-01-16.
  2. ^ https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260110-storm-goretti-kills-man-in-uk-and-leaves-100-000-french-homes-without-power
  3. ^ "La borrasca Goretti se cobra la vida de un donostiarra de 81 años tras caer al Urumea por las fuertes rachas de viento".
  4. ^ "Severo maltempo nel Lazio, tromba d'aria violentissima distruttiva a Marino". ConfineLive (in Italian). 2026-01-04. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  5. ^ Raso, Beatrice (2026-01-04). "Maltempo Lazio, piogge e temporali in provincia di Roma: tornado causa danni a Frattocchie | FOTO e VIDEO". Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  6. ^ Crocè, Giovanni (2026-01-04). "Forte maltempo fa crollare una struttura da padel: danni e paura ai Castelli Romani (VIDEO)". Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  7. ^ "eswd.eu". eswd.eu. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  8. ^ Akrherz@Iastate.Edu, Daryl Herzmann (2026-01-09). "IEM :: PNS from NWS OUN". Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
  9. ^ Akrherz@Iastate.Edu, Daryl Herzmann (2026-01-09). "IEM :: PNS from NWS TSA". Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
  10. ^ National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma (2026). "2026 Oklahoma Tornadoes". www.weather.gov. National Weather Service.
  11. ^ Guthrie, Walter (2026-01-08). "Purcell, Oklahoma tornado: Drone 5 shows damage to destroyed home". KOCO. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
  12. ^ https://weather.com/forecast/national/news/2026-01-06-late-week-storm-severe-south-snow-wind-midwest
  13. ^ "European Severe Weather Database" (Interactive map and database). ESWD. European Severe Storms Laboratory. 2026.
  14. ^ epiruspost (January 8, 2026). IF2 tornado Report (Report). D News. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  15. ^ Sartori, Milena; Mariani, Manuella (11 January 2026). "Vento de tornado que atingiu São José dos Pinhais alcançou 180 km/h e é classificado como F2, diz Simepar" [Winds from tornado that struck São José dos Pinhais reached 180 km/h and are classified as F2, says Simepar] (in Brazilian Portuguese). G1. G1 PR and RPC. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  16. ^ Simepar (11 January 2026). "Simepar classifica tornado que atingiu São José dos Pinhais na categoria F2 da Escala Fujita" [Simepar rates tornado that struck São José dos Pinhais as category F2 in the Fujita scale] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Agência Estadual de Notícias do Estado do Paraná. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  17. ^ "Nearly 450 flights cancelled, delayed at Schiphol Airport amid snowy, windy weather | NL Times".
  18. ^ "Snow Chaos at Amsterdam Airport Grounds over 60 Flights".
  19. ^ "Storm Anna: Strong winds causing some issues at Schiphol Airport | NL Times".
  20. ^ "The storm is reaching its peak - in the middle of its strongest".
  21. ^ "Snow & wind: Hundreds of Schiphol flights to be cancelled tomorrow; 100 scrapped so far | NL Times".
  22. ^ https://eutoday.net/poland-paralysed-by-heavy-snow/
  23. ^ "Emergency warnings issued for Victorian fires as heatwave sweeps southern Australia — as it happened". ABC News. 2026-01-06. Retrieved 2026-01-16.
  24. ^ Stock, Petra (2026-01-11). "One person dead as PM visits bushfire-ravaged towns with 300 structures destroyed and 350,000 hectares burned". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-01-16.
  25. ^ https://www.weather.gov/arx/jan0826
Global weather by year
Preceded by
2025		 Weather of
2026		 Succeeded by
2027
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