Storms are a type of natural disaster in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. They are the only type of disaster which moves around the map (see below for more details).
There are four different kinds of storms, each one related to a particular terrain.
- Effects:
- May damage or destroy
Districts, tile improvements, and units along its path. - May kill Citizens from nearby cities.
- Exists for 3 turns, moving around the map.
- Depending on the type of storm, may fertilize (adding Food potential) or bring minerals (adding Production potential) to affected land tiles.
- May damage or destroy
Tornado[]
Tornadoes are storms which start in Grassland or Plains terrain. They tend to be more concentrated than other storms, less widespread but inflicting greater damage. They are one of the few disasters which has no beneficial effect on tiles - they just cause destruction.
Blizzard[]
Blizzards are storms which start in Tundra terrain. They freeze and damage everything in their path, but they also have a chance of increasing the 
Food potential of any Tundra and Snow tiles they pass over.
In the Apocalypse game mode, Soothsayers can summon Blizzards when standing on a Tundra, Tundra Hills, Snow, or Snow Hills tile.
Dust Storm[]
Dust Storms start in Desert terrain. Besides the destruction they bring, they may also distribute minerals from the desert and increase 
Production or Food in affected tiles.
In the Apocalypse game mode, Soothsayers can summon Dust Storms when standing on a Desert or Desert Hills tile.
Hurricane[]
Hurricanes start at sea. They are the largest storms, but may wreak the least havoc potentially, simply because they may move mostly or wholly on Ocean tiles without touching land. Of course, islands are particularly vulnerable to Hurricanes, as they are located in the middle of the ocean and can easily find themselves in the storm's path. Hurricanes are especially destructive to naval units.
Hurricanes may also fertilize land tiles they happen to pass over, but they mostly bring Food.
Movement[]
Storms are unique among disasters in that they last for three turns, during which they will sweep around the map. This means that the storm will appear in a particular area in the first turn, then move to another area on the second turn and again on the third turn, after which it will dissipate. The storm moves in a general direction (visible from the Climate screen and in tooltips), and at each step will move its center along a vector represented by the direction. The new center of the storm is usually 3-4 tiles removed from the previous location.
During each move, the storm affects every tile along its path. This is evidenced by the damage done to units which are neither in Location A nor B, but in between between the two locations. All in all, a single storm may affect over 80 tiles! This makes storms the most destructive and unpredictable type of disaster, able to cover huge areas of the map.
Severity and effects[]
Each storm has two different severity levels. Higher severity increases area covered and brings higher destruction, but also a higher chance of fertilization. In the table below you will find the percent chance for each damage type to occur, as well as the chance of an affected tile to gain +1 of the given yield as base yield bonus.
| Type | Severity | Area affected | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Family | 1 tile | Improvements Pillaged: 75%; Improvements destroyed: 35%
Districts Pillaged: 20%; Buildings Pillaged: 60% |
| Outbreak | 3 tiles | Improvements Pillaged: 100%; Improvements destroyed: 75%
Districts Pillaged: 75%; Buildings Pillaged: 100% | |
| Blizzard | Significant | 7 tiles | Improvements Pillaged: 50%; Improvements destroyed: 25%
Districts Pillaged: 15%; Buildings Pillaged: 40%
|
| Crippling | 19 tiles | Improvements Pillaged: 100%; Improvements destroyed: 50%
Districts Pillaged: 50%; Buildings Pillaged: 100% Land units damaged chance: 100%; 40-60 HP Naval units damaged chance: 60%; 40-60 HP
| |
| Dust Storm | Gradient | 3 tiles | Improvements Pillaged: 75%; Improvements destroyed: 35%
Districts Pillaged: 20%; Buildings Pillaged: 60% |
| Haboob | 7 tiles | Improvements Pillaged: 100%; Improvements destroyed: 75%
Districts Pillaged: 75%; Buildings Pillaged: 100% Land units damaged chance: 100%,: 40-60 HP Naval units damaged chance: 60%; 40-60 HP | |
| Hurricane | Category 4 | 7 tiles | Improvements Pillaged: 75% (100% on Coastal Lowland);
Improvements destroyed: 35% Districts Pillaged: 20% (100% on Coastal Lowland); Buildings Pillaged: 60% |
| Category 5 | 19 tiles | Improvements Pillaged: 100%; Improvements destroyed: 75%
Districts Pillaged: 75% (100% on Coastal Lowland); Buildings Pillaged: 100% |
With the Antarctic Late Summer Update, storms stop fertilizing tiles once Climate Change reaches Phase IV. In Phase V and beyond, they also begin causing desertification, meaning that they remove the bonus yields gained earlier in the game from other disasters! The chance of this occurring is 15% for Phase V, plus an additional 15% for each subsequent phase.
Unit immunities[]
There are certain civilization and leader abilities that render their units (military and otherwise) immune to damage from specific types of storms. Hojo Tokimune's Divine Wind ability, for example, protects Japanese units from Hurricane damage, and the Russian civilization's Mother Russia ability protects their units from Blizzard damage. Such immunities open up both strategic and tactical possibilities, as well as potentially allowing for rapid disaster response and recovery.
In-game disaster descriptions[]
| Type | Severity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Family | A tornado slowly descends from a summer storm, and people seek refuge. |
| Outbreak | A fast-moving line of storms gallop across the darkening summer sky, with tornadoes ominously forming beneath. | |
| Blizzard | Significant | An icy wind sweeps blanketing snow across the landscape, as living creatures huddle in their dens. |
| Crippling | The howling wind and lashing snow turn sky and land white. Familiar forms disappear beneath frozen mounds. | |
| Dust Storm | Gradient | The sun is an angry orange disc in a hazy sky as people scurry about their business, cloth wrapped around noses and mouths. |
| Haboob | From far off people see the approaching wall of driven sand, and scatter to seek safety before the scouring wind! | |
| Hurricane | Category 4 | Pelting rain and a howling gale mark the arrival of a mighty hurricane. |
| Category 5 | The wind screams, the torrents of rain fall, and the waves drive inexorably ashore. Little can stand where this hurricane passes! |
Gallery[]
.png "Hurricane in-game (Civ6).png (2.18 MB)")
.png "Blizzard in-game (Civ6).png (2.51 MB)")
.png "Dust Storm (Civ6).png (3.4 MB)")
.png "Tornado outbreak (Civ6).png (3.3 MB)")
| Civilization VI Disasters [edit] |
|---|
| Comet Strike1 2 • Drought • Flood • Forest Fire1 • Meteor Shower1 • Nuclear accident • Solar Flare1 2 • Storm (Blizzard • Dust Storm • Hurricane • Tornado) • Volcanic eruption |
| 1 Requires DLC • 2 Apocalypse mode only |