May 1
- 1971 - Typhoon Wanda (pictured) reached its peak intensity just off the Vietnamese coast with 140 km/h (85 mph) winds. The storm killed 56 people and caused $700,000 of damage.
- 2015 - Cyclone Quang, as a rapidly weakening cyclone, makes landfall over in Exmouth, Western Australia with only minimal damage and no known casualties.
May 2
- 1994 - A powerful cyclone made landfall near the Burma–Bangladeshi border. The cyclone caused 285 deaths and over $125 million of damage.
- 2008 - Cyclone Nargis (pictured) struck the Ayeyarwady Region of Burma near Yangon, inflicting catastrophic destruction and causing 138,373 fatalities; it was the fifth-deadliest tropical cyclone on record.
May 3
- 2019 - Cyclone Fani (pictured) struck eastern India. It killed 89 people and left US$8.9 billion in damage.
May 4
- 1982 - A tropical cyclone struck southern Burma, where it killed five people.
- 2009 - Typhoon Kujira (pictured) reaches peak strength as a Category 4 typhoon, after killing 28 people and causing P1.25 million (US$27 million) in damage in the Philippines.
- May 5, 1974 - Typhoon Carla (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 150 km/h (90 mph) winds to the east of Iwo Jima. Carla had previously caused heavy damage to crops in the Northern Mariana Islands.
- May 6, 1957 - Typhoon Trix (track pictured) reached its peak intensity with a central pressure of 950 hPa (mbar) to the east of the Philippines.
May 7
- 1932 - A tropical storm moved across Hispaniola.
- 2011 - Tropical Storm Aere (pictured) affects the Philippines killing 48 people and Php1.4 billion (US$34 million) in damages.
May 8
- 2003 - Cyclone Manou reached its peak intensity in the Indian Ocean with a central pressure of 967 hPa (mbar). Manou killed 70 people in Madagascar.
- 2017 - Cyclone Donna (pictured) attained peak intensity in the South Pacific Ocean, with peak 10 minute winds of 205 km/h (125 mph); this made it the strongest ever recorded Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone in the month of May.
May 9
- 1961 - A cyclone struck what is now Bangladesh, killing 11,468 people.
- 1968 - A cyclone struck Myanmar, killing 1,049 people.
- 1990 - A powerful tropical cyclone (pictured) struck Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India. The cyclone killed a total of 967 people and damaged about US$600 million.
May 10
- 1972 - Cyclone Hannah impacts Papua New Guinea as a weak cyclone.
- 2002 - The 2002 Oman cyclone made landfall in Oman, bringing up to 250 mm (9.8 in) of rain.
- 2015 - Typhoon Noul (pictured) made landfall over in Santa Ana, Cagayan at Category 5 typhoon intensity.
May 11
- 1965 - The first of two cyclones to impact Bangladesh in 1965 made landfall on the country. These two storms collectively killed 47,000 people.
- 2019 - Cyclone Lili (pictured) made landfall over East Timor before dissipating the same day. The storm caused significant flooding over the island.
- May 12, 1991 - Typhoon Walt (pictured) reached its peak intensity to the east of the Philippines with 260 km/h (160 mph) winds. Cyclone Lisa developed in the Southern Hemisphere concurrently with Walt.
- May 13, 2001 - Tropical Storm Cimaron (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 110 km/h (70 mph) winds shortly before it struck the Okinawa Islands, bringing heavy rain.
May 14
- 1997 - Cyclone Rhonda reached its peak intensity in the open Indian Ocean with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph).
- 2007 - Cyclone Akash (pictured) damages a total of US$982 million over in Bangladesh and Burma, also killing a total of 14.
- 2020 - Typhoon Vongfong makes landfall over Visayas, Philippines as a Category 3 typhoon.
May 15
- 1982 - Tropical Storm Claudia (pictured) affects the Solomon Islands as a weak cyclone.
- 1996 - Typhoon Bart reaches Category 4 typhoon intensity just northeast of Luzon.
- 2024 - The 2024 East Pacific hurricane season officially begins.
May 16
- 1989 - Typhoon Brenda (pictured) passed over the Philippines, causing torrential flooding that killed at least 140 people.
- 2004 - Typhoon Nida reaches peak intensity as an intense typhoon, off the coast of eastern Philippines, causing minor damage.
- 2015 - Typhoon Dolphin reaches peak intensity, impacting the Mariana Islands with $14 million in damages.
May 17
- 1951 - Hurricane Able reached hurricane strength over The Bahamas, being one of the earliest pre-season hurricanes recorded.
- 2006 - Typhoon Chanchu (pictured) makes landfall over in Shantou, China, causing about ¥7 billion (US$872 million) in damage in the country.
- 2021 - Cyclone Tauktae struck Gujarat and affected much of western India, killing 174 people and causing US$2 billion in damage.
May 18
- 1986 - Cyclone Namu moved through the Solomon Islands, killing at least 111 people.
- 1997 - A powerful cyclone made landfall over in Bangladesh as a powerful Category 4 cyclone, killing more than 1,150 people.
- 2020 - Cyclone Amphan (pictured) reached peak intensity as a Category 5 super cyclonic storm, and two days later moved ashore near the border of India and Bangladesh. With an estimated US$13.7 billion in damages, Amphan was the costliest North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone on record.
May 19
- 1997 - A powerful cyclone (pictured) struck Bangladesh, killing 1,146 people.
- 2004 - A cyclone made landfall in Burma, causing floods and resulting in 236 fatalities.
- 2018 - Cyclone Sagar moved ashore Somaliland, with its associated floods killing 79 people across the region.
May 20
- 1989 - Typhoon Brenda makes landfall over Southern China as a Category 1 typhoon, killing about 84 people.
- 1999 - A powerful cyclone (pictured) struck southeastern Pakistan, killing at least 400 people, and perhaps as many as 6,000.
- 2005 - Tropical Depression Adrian became the first Pacific tropical cyclone to strike the Pacific coast of Honduras.
May 21
- 1976 - Typhoon Pamela passed over Guam with winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) and caused over $500 million of damage to the island.
- 2010 - Cyclone Laila (pictured) dissipates after causing destruction over the Andhra Pradesh region of India.
- May 22, 1996 - Tropical Storm Cam (pictured) reached its peak intensity with 110 km/h (70 mph) while moving to the east through the Luzon Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan.
May 23
- 1976 - Subtropical Storm One struck the Florida Panhandle, bringing heavy rainfall to the southeastern United States but only minimal damage.
- 2003 - Typhoon Chan-hom (pictured) reaches its maximum intensity as a Category 4 typhoon with a pressure of 940 mbar (27.76 inHg).
- May 24, 1989 - Tropical Storm Cecil (pictured) made landfall in central Vietnam where it killed 52 people and left over 100,000 others homeless.
May 25
- 1985 - A cyclone (pictured) made landfall in Bangladesh and killed 11,069 people.
- 2009 - Cyclone Aila moved ashore Bangladesh, causing 339 fatalities.
- 2018 - Cyclone Mekunu struck southern Oman, causing floods across the Arabian Peninsula, as well as 31 deaths.
May 26
- 1953 - Tropical Storm Alice made landfall in Nicaragua as a minimal tropical storm.
- 2011 - Typhoon Songda (pictured) reaches peak intensity as a Category 5 super typhoon to the northeast of the Philippines. Songda mainly affected Japan, killing 17 people with damages of about ¥23.2 billion (US$287 million).
May 27
- 2003 - Tropical Storm Linfa (pictured) made landfall on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Linfa killed 41 people in total.
- 2020 - Tropical Storm Bertha rapidly forms and makes landfall in South Carolina. Only one person died form the storm and damages were only estimated at around US$130,000.
May 28
- 1960 - Tropical Storm Lucille and a non-tropical low merged just off Luzon in the Philippines. The non-tropical disturbance killed nearly 300 people in the Manila area.
- 2018 - Tropical Storm Alberto (pictured) makes landfall over Laguna Beach, Florida. Alberto becomes the most damaging pre-season Atlantic tropical cyclone, with estimated damages of US$125 million.
May 29
- 1958 - Typhoon Phyllis reached its peak intensity with 295 km/h (185 mph) winds, becoming the strongest typhoon ever recorded in the month of May.
- 1963 - A powerful cyclone struck what is now Bangladesh, killing 11,520&bsp;people.
- 2016 - Tropical Storm Bonnie (pictured) made landfall as a tropical depression over South Carolina. Bonnie brought heavy rainfall to the Southeastern United States, causing only US$640,000 in damages.
May 30
- 1959 - Tropical Storm Arlene made landfall in Louisiana as a minimal tropical storm, causing $500,000 worth of damage in the Southeastern United States.
- 2008 - Tropical Storm Alma (pictured) affects much of Central America with torrential rainfall. Four people died while seven people remained missing from the storm. Damages were estimated to be about US$35 million.
May 31
- 1997 - Typhoon Marie reached its peak intensity with winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) in the open Pacific Ocean. Marie did not affect land.
- 2008 - Tropical Storm Arthur (pictured) makes landfall over Belize. Damages were estimated to be around US$78 million due to extensive rainfall.