WThe Horn of Africa has experienced the effects of 14 North Indian Ocean tropical cyclones since 1984, resulting in at least 108 fatalities. All but two of the storms struck Somalia from the east. The other two – a storm in May 1984 and Cyclone Sagar in May 2018 – traversed the Gulf of Aden and struck northern Somalia. Sagar killed 78 people in Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. In November 2013, a deep depression struck Somalia and killed 162 people while also causing extensive livestock damage. A storm in November 1994 killed 30 people in Somalia. The most recent storm to strike the region was Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Gati in November 2020.
WSevere Cyclonic Storm Agni was a tropical cyclone of the 2004 North Indian Ocean cyclone season notable for its record proximity to the equator. It was the second North Indian Ocean cyclone to receive a name, after Onil earlier in the year. Agni formed on November 28 well to the southwest of India in the Arabian Sea, and steadily intensified as it tracked northwestward. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated peak 1 minute sustained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph), while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) estimated peak 3 minute sustained winds of 100 km/h (65 mph); the IMD is the official warning center for the north Indian Ocean. After peaking, it weakened due to wind shear, dry air, and cooler waters, and the JTWC issued its final advisory on December 3 as it approached the coast of Somalia. The remnants of Agni moved along the Somalian coastline until dissipating on December 5.
WExtremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Chapala was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused moderate damage in Somalia and Yemen during November 2015. Chapala was the third named storm of the 2015 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. It developed as a depression on 28 October off western India, and strengthened a day later into a cyclonic storm. Chapala then rapidly intensified amid favorable conditions. On 30 October, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) estimated that Chapala attained peak three-minute sustained winds of 215 km/h (130 mph). The American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated sustained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph), making Chapala among the strongest cyclones on record in the Arabian Sea. After peak intensity, Chapala skirted the Yemeni island of Socotra on 1 November, becoming the first hurricane-force storm there since 1922. High winds and heavy rainfall resulted in an island-wide power outage, and severe damage was compounded by Cyclone Megh, which struck Yemen a week later.
WDeep Depression ARB 01 was the second deadliest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2013 as well as the deadliest to affect Somalia in recorded history. The sixth tropical cyclone and third deep depression of the 2013 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, ARB 01 formed in the Arabian Sea on November 8. The cyclone subsequently strengthened into a deep depression before making landfall in the Puntland region of Somalia at peak intensity on November 11. After making landfall, the cyclone rapidly weakened over land and degenerated into a well-marked low pressure area later on the same day.
WVery Severe Cyclonic Storm Gati was the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in Somalia, and one of few tropical cyclones to do so in the country. The seventh depression, third cyclonic storm, and second very severe cyclonic storm of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Gati formed from an area of low pressure in the Arabian Sea, on 21 November. The storm then explosively intensified, becoming a very severe tropical cyclone and reaching its peak intensity, the following day. Gati weakened slightly before making landfall in northeastern Somalia on 22 November. Gati was the first hurricane-force cyclone to make landfall in Somalia on record. Gati then weakened and became disorganized as it moved inland. The JTWC issued its final advisory on Gati shortly after it moved into the Gulf of Aden on 23 November.
WExtremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Megh is regarded as the worst tropical cyclone to ever strike the Yemeni island of Socotra, causing additional destruction there after Cyclone Chapala hit the same island. Megh formed on November 5, 2015, in the eastern Arabian Sea, and followed a path similar to Chapala. After moving northward, the cyclone turned to the west, and fueled by warm water temperatures, it quickly intensified. On November 7, the storm developed an eye in the center and began to rapidly intensify into a mature cyclone. By the next day, the India Meteorological Department estimated peak 3 minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph), and the American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated 1 minute winds of 205 km/h (125 mph). Shortly thereafter, the cyclone brushed the northern coast of Socotra. The storm steadily weakened thereafter, especially after it skirted the northern Somalia coast. After entering the Gulf of Aden, Megh turned to the west-northwest and struck southwestern Yemen on 10 November as a deep depression, dissipating shortly thereafter.
WCyclonic Storm Sagar was the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Somalia in recorded history until Gati in 2020, and the first named cyclone of the 2018 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Forming on May 16 east of the Guardafui Channel, Sagar intensified into a cyclonic storm on the next day, as it gradually organized. The storm turned to the west-southwest and traversed the entirety of the Gulf of Aden, making landfall over northwestern Somalia on May 19, farther west than any other storm on record in the North Indian Ocean. Sagar weakened into a remnant low on May 20.