Tropical Storm Esther (1969)
Tropical Storm Esther peaked at 55 kt in the South Pacific between April 26, 1969 and May 2, 1969, with a lowest pressure of 992 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Esther, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1969 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- April 26, 1969 to May 2, 1969
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 992 mb (29.29 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 100 km (62 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.7
- Identifier
- SH351969
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 00:00 | 8.9S 152.7E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 26, 06:00 | 9.4S 152.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 26, 12:00 | 10.0S 152.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 26, 18:00 | 10.5S 152.1E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 27, 00:00 | 11.1S 151.9E | 10 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 27, 06:00 | 11.5S 151.4E | 10 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 27, 12:00 | 11.9S 150.8E | 10 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 27, 18:00 | 12.1S 149.7E | 10 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 28, 00:00 | 12.1S 149.2E | 10 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 28, 06:00 | 11.8S 149.7E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 28, 12:00 | 11.6S 150.3E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 28, 18:00 | 11.6S 150.5E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 29, 00:00 | 11.7S 150.9E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 29, 06:00 | 11.9S 151.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 29, 12:00 | 12.0S 152.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 29, 18:00 | 12.2S 153.6E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 30, 00:00 | 12.3S 154.8E | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 30, 06:00 | 12.7S 156.0E | 40 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 30, 12:00 | 13.3S 157.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 30, 18:00 | 13.9S 158.5E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 1, 00:00 | 14.5S 159.8E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 1, 06:00 | 15.1S 161.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 1, 12:00 | 15.6S 162.1E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 1, 18:00 | 15.9S 162.7E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 2, 00:00 | 16.3S 163.6E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 2, 06:00 | 17.1S 165.1E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 2, 12:00 | 17.5S 165.7E | Tropical storm |
Other South Pacific storms of 1969
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1969
- Tropical Depression AdeleSouth Pacific · 1969
- Tropical Depression BeckySouth Pacific · 1969
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1969
- Tropical Depression BridgetSouth Pacific · 1969
- Tropical Depression ColleenSouth Pacific · 1969
- Tropical Depression HortenseSouth Pacific · 1969
- Tropical Depression IreneSouth Pacific · 1969
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1969
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1969
- Tropical Depression Audrey:BonnieSouth Pacific · 1969
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1969
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1969
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1969
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1969
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.