Tropical Depression Fatou (1979)
Tropical Depression Fatou peaked at 28 kt in the South Indian between February 14, 1979 and February 18, 1979, with a lowest pressure of 997 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Depression Fatou, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1979 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 Indian
- Dates
- February 14, 1979 to February 18, 1979
- Peak strength
- Tropical Depression, 28 kt (32 mph), ten-minute wind
- Lowest pressure
- 997 mb (29.44 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 122 km (76 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.0
- Identifier
- SH151979
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 14, 06:00 | 17.5S 52.5E | 28 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 14, 12:00 | 17.5S 53.4E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 14, 18:00 | 17.5S 54.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 15, 00:00 | 17.5S 55.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 15, 06:00 | 17.5S 56.0E | Mixed | ||
| Feb 15, 12:00 | 17.6S 55.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 15, 18:00 | 17.7S 55.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 16, 00:00 | 17.7S 55.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 16, 06:00 | 17.9S 54.9E | Mixed | ||
| Feb 16, 12:00 | 18.4S 54.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 16, 18:00 | 19.1S 53.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 17, 00:00 | 19.7S 52.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 17, 06:00 | 20.3S 51.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 17, 12:00 | 21.5S 50.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 17, 18:00 | 23.0S 49.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 18, 00:00 | 24.0S 49.1E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 18, 06:00 | 25.1S 50.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 18, 12:00 | 26.3S 51.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Feb 18, 18:00 | 27.7S 52.7E | Tropical storm |
Other South Indian storms of 1979
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Indian · 1979
- Cyclone AngeleSouth Indian · 1979
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Indian · 1979
- Cyclone BenjamineSouth Indian · 1979
- Cyclone CelineSouth Indian · 1979
- Tropical Depression DoraSouth Indian · 1979
- Tropical Storm EstelleSouth Indian · 1979
- Cyclone HazelSouth Indian · 1979
- Tropical Depression GelieSouth Indian · 1979
- Tropical Storm IvanSouth Indian · 1979
- Tropical Depression HeliosSouth Indian · 1979
- Cyclone IdylleSouth Indian · 1979
- Tropical Storm JaneSouth Indian · 1979
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Indian · 1979
- Tropical Storm KevinSouth Indian · 1979
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.