perfect storm

American  

noun

1. Meteorology.  a very intense and powerful storm arising from the convergence of an unusual set of weather patterns.

   A dying Hurricane Grace delivered the immeasurable tropical energy needed to create the perfect storm.

2. a detrimental or calamitous situation or event arising from the powerful combined effect of a unique set of circumstances.

   a perfect storm battering corporate pension plans.

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perfect storm British  

noun

1. a combination of events which are not individually dangerous, but occurring together produce a disastrous outcome

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Etymology

Origin of perfect storm

First recorded in 1935–40 in meteorological sense; in 1997 for current sense, from The Perfect Storm, a nonfiction book by Sebastian Junger, U.S. journalist and author (born 1962)

Example Sentences

Kit designer Rob Warner calls it a "perfect storm".

From BBC

“And it wasn’t close. I think that certainly helps propel this video, along with the rise of MTV. It was a perfect storm of a pop cultural phenomenon.”

From Los Angeles Times

Or as Ken Mahoney, the chief executive of Mahoney Asset Management, put it in emailed comments, markets are now facing a “perfect storm.”

From MarketWatch

It was a perfect storm of things coming together.

From Salon

“This combination ultimately crushed our progress at the same time that it was crushing our logical strategic acquirer — it was the perfect storm.”

From Seattle Times