Cyclone Isobel (1974)

Basin

South Indian

Dates

March 9, 1974 to March 17, 1974

Peak strength

Cyclone, 70 kt (81 mph), ten-minute wind

Lowest pressure

973 mb (28.73 inHg)

Landfall

No; closest approach 403 km (250 mi)

Accumulated cyclone energy

0.0

Identifier

SH281974

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.

• Tropical Depression AliceSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression BernadetteSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression
• Cyclone InesSouth Indian · 1974Cyclone80 kt · 970 mb
• Tropical Storm AnnieSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Storm55 kt · 981 mb
• Cyclone BerylSouth Indian · 1974Cyclone70 kt · 973 mb
• Cyclone CecilySouth Indian · 1974Cyclone70 kt · 973 mb
• Tropical Depression ChristianeSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression
• Cyclone Dalida:Deidre:DelidSouth Indian · 1974Cyclone80 kt · 965 mb
• Tropical Storm EricaSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Storm50 kt · 977 mb
• Tropical Depression EsmeraldaSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm Fiona:GwendaSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Storm55 kt · 982 mb
• Tropical Depression FredegondeSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression GhislaineSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression
• Cyclone HelenSouth Indian · 1974Cyclone70 kt · 973 mb
• Cyclone JessieSouth Indian · 1974Cyclone80 kt · 964 mb
• Tropical Depression HonorineSouth Indian · 1974Tropical Depression

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.

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.