Idiom idiom
a perfect storm
Meaning
the worst possible situation
Examples
“The bad weather and the broken car create a perfect storm.”
“The flight was canceled because of a perfect storm of heavy snow, a pilot strike, and a technical computer failure.”
“The company faced a perfect storm when the global recession hit just as their main factory was destroyed by a fire, leading to an immediate financial crisis.”
Origin
first recorded 20th c.
first recorded 20th c.
A meteorological term for a rare convergence of weather events; popularised by Sebastian Junger's 1997 book The Perfect Storm about a 1991 Atlantic storm.
Last updated June 7, 2026