1982 -
Tonga's worst storm in their history, Cyclone Isaac(pictured), moved through the island group, causing six deaths and leaving 45,000 people homeless.
March 4
1899 - Cyclone Mahina made landfall at
Bathurst Bay in
Far North Queensland, Australia, generating a
storm surge of 14.6
m (48
ft), the
highest storm surge ever recorded. A pressure of 880 hPa (25.99 inHg) was recorded during the storm, making it the most intense Australian cyclone, as well as the most intense recorded tropical cyclone in the southern hemisphere. Mahina killed more than 400 people.
2006 - Tropical Storm Diwa passed northwest of Réunion island in the south-west Indian Ocean; over four days, the storm dropped 2,943 mm (115.9 in) of rainfall, causing floods and leading to eight deaths.
March 5
1995 - Cyclone Violet reached peak strength as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone east of
Australia.
2002 - Typhoon Mitag(pictured) with 1-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph), the first ever recorded March super typhoon in the Western Pacific.
2021 - Cyclone Niran was the strongest storm of the 2020-21 Australian Region cyclone season, peaking with 260 km/h (160 mph).
March 6
1988 - The remnants of Cyclone Bola started bringing rainfall to
New Zealand, where the storm killed three people and left US$82 million in damage.
2021 - Cyclone Niran(pictured) brushed the southern coast of
New Caledonia, resulting in US$200 million in damage.
2017 - Cyclone Enawo struck northeastern Madagascar and moved southward through the island; it killed 78 people.
March 8
1908 - A rare
off-seasonhurricane struck the
Leeward Islands from the northeast. It was the only March Atlantic tropical cyclone on record.
1997 - Cyclone Gavin reached peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) and a pressure of 925 mbar as it affected
Vanuatu and
Fiji, killing 18 people and damaging US$23.7 million.
2000 - Cyclone Steve made the last of four landfalls on Australia, after moving around most of the country in a counterclockwise direction.
2005 - Cyclone Ingrid(pictured) struck the
Cape York Peninsula in northeastern Australia, and later moved across Northern and Western Australia, killing five people.
March 10
1973 - Cyclone Lydie passed near
Réunion in the south-west Indian Ocean near peak intensity, killing ten people on the island.
2002 - Cyclone Hary(pictured) brushed the east coast of
Madagascar as a very intense tropical cyclone, killing three people in the country.
2012 - Tropical Storm Irina became extratropical after meandering in the southern Mozambique Channel; along its path, the storm killed 77 people in Madagascar and southeastern Africa.
2014 - Cyclone Lusi(pictured) reached peak intensity with a minimum pressure of 960 mbar, which killed a total of 10 people over in
Vanuatu and
Fiji.
March 13
2003 - Cyclone Erica reached its peak intensity with 240
km/h (150
mph) just before it brushed the southwestern coast of
New Caledonia. Erica killed 2 people on the island and caused significant damage.
2015 - Cyclone Pam(pictured) reaches peak strength with 1-minute sustained winds of 270 km/h (165 mph) and a minimum pressure of 896 hPa, which killed 16 people and damaged US$360.4 million mostly in
New Caledonia and
Vanuatu.
March 14
1994 - Cyclone Litanne reached its peak intensity with 240
km/h (150
mph) winds. Litanne struck the eastern coast of
Madagascar the next day.
2007 - Cyclone Indlala reached peak intensity before moving ashore eastern Madagascar, killing 150 people on the island.
2010 - Cyclone Ului(pictured) reached peak strength as a Category 5 with 10-minute winds of 215 km/h (130 mph) as it enters the Australian region basin.
2019 – One of the worst tropical cyclones to affect
Africa, Cyclone Idai(pictured) made landfall over
Mozambique. Idai killed over 1,300 people with more than 2,000 people missing. With estimated damages of US$2.2 billion, Idai also became the costliest tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean basin, as well as the costliest natural disaster in Africa.
March 16
1981 - Cyclone Max reached its peak intensity with a central pressure of 960
hPa (
mbar). Max had earlier passed directly over
Darwin, the first cyclone to directly affect the city since
Cyclone Tracy.
2014 - Cyclone Gillian(pictured) strengthened into a Category 5 cyclone intensity with 205 km/h (125 mph) 10-minute winds. It disrupted the search for the lost
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
2004 - Hurricane Catarina(pictured) made landfall on the southern coastline of
Brazil, becoming the only known
hurricane-strengthtropical cyclone to ever hit the South American country. Catarina killed at least three people and caused locally heavy damage.
2017 - Cyclone Debbie made landfall over in
Queensland as a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone, causing 14 deaths and US$2.73 billion in damage.
2014 - Cyclone Hellen(pictured) became the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the
Mozambique Channel, with 10 minute winds of 230 km/h (145 mph). Hellen caused flooding in the Comoros and Madagascar, killing eight people.
March 31
2015 - Typhoon Maysak(pictured) attained its peak intensity with winds of 260
km/h (160
mph), becoming the strongest pre-April tropical cyclone on record in the
Northwestern Pacific ocean.