Primal Space

We've been able to observe these storms up from space with missions like Hubble, but also up close with the various rover missions on Mars' surface.

These dust storms have ultimately been the reason why most solar-powered missions on Mars have ended.

Most notably, in 2018, the Opportunity rover couldn't survive the dust storm that lasted several months.

Mars' atmosphere is so thin, it's a wonder it can carry any dust at all.

However, it just goes to show how fine the dust particles on Mars are, much smaller than Earth's sand grains.

More surprising still was a discovery made in 1999 by Hubble, which observed a cyclone on Mars over 1,100 kilometers in diameter with a 200-kilometer wide eye.

This isn't really the same as a hurricane on Earth, more like something known as a polar low.

These are short-lived atmospheric low-pressure systems like depressions with a top speed not exceeding 100 kilometers per hour.

Since that sighting in 1999, more have been seen in similar regions on Mars, never lasting for more than a day or two.

Because of the whiteness of these clouds, it seems like they are dust-free, meaning they are likely water ice clouds.

Number eight, Earth's cyclones.

We have the best understanding of the processes behind storms on Earth, and we have plenty of different types here.

However, as we focus on the biggest storms on record, we have to look at Typhoon Tip, a Category 5 super typhoon that formed in 1979 near Japan.

This monster typhoon was comparable to half the land area of the U.S.,

at 2,200 kilometers in diameter.

Its top sustained wind speed was an incredible 305 kilometers per hour, with a record low sea level pressure detected.

Luckily, at its peak, it wasn't close to land, and by the time it did make landfall, wind speeds had reduced to 130 kilometers per hour.

It was still enough to do damage, but it was nowhere near the deadliest cyclone on record.

Number seven, Venus's polar vortices.

Considering Venus can be our closest neighboring planet, it does seem to have been largely ignored by space agencies in the last few decades.