Tropical Storm Priscilla (1971)
Tropical Storm Priscilla peaked at 40 kt in the South Pacific between December 16, 1970 and December 19, 1970, with a lowest pressure of 990 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Priscilla, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1971 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
- December 16, 1970 to December 19, 1970
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 40 kt (46 mph), ten-minute wind
- Lowest pressure
- 990 mb (29.23 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 85 km (53 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.5
- Identifier
- 1970351S17176
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 12:00 | 16.5S 176.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 16, 18:00 | 17.3S 176.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 17, 00:00 | 18.1S 176.4E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 06:00 | 18.8S 176.7E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 17, 12:00 | 19.5S 177.1E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 18:00 | 20.2S 177.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 18, 00:00 | 21.0S 179.0E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 06:00 | 22.0S 180.8E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 18, 12:00 | 23.1S 182.8E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 18:00 | 24.3S 185.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 19, 00:00 | 25.6S 187.1E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
Other South Pacific storms of 1971
- Tropical Depression Beverley:EvaSouth Pacific · 1971
- Tropical Storm RosieSouth Pacific · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1971
- Tropical Storm AggieSouth Pacific · 1971
- Tropical Storm DoraSouth Pacific · 1971
- Cyclone GertieSouth Pacific · 1971
- Tropical Storm IdaSouth Pacific · 1971
- Tropical Storm FionaSouth Pacific · 1971
- Tropical Storm LenaSouth Pacific · 1971
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. This storm’s winds are ten-minute averages from its regional agency. They read about 12 percent lower than the one-minute winds US agencies use, so a Saffir-Simpson category is not given for it.
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.