Tropical Storm Peter (1979)
Tropical Storm Peter peaked at 50 kt in the South Pacific between December 29, 1978 and January 4, 1979, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Peter, 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 Pacific
- Dates
- December 29, 1978 to January 4, 1979
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 50 kt (58 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.5
- Fastest the center moved
- 20 kt (23 mph)
- Identifier
- SH051979
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 29, 00:00 | 10.0S 135.6E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 29, 06:00 | 11.1S 136.4E | 35 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 12:00 | 12.0S 137.2E | 40 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 18:00 | 12.6S 138.0E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 30, 00:00 | 13.0S 138.8E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 30, 06:00 | 13.2S 139.3E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 30, 12:00 | 13.5S 139.6E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 30, 18:00 | 13.7S 139.9E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 31, 00:00 | 14.0S 140.3E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 31, 06:00 | 14.4S 141.1E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 31, 12:00 | 14.8S 142.0E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 31, 18:00 | 15.1S 143.0E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 1, 00:00 | 15.4S 143.9E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 1, 06:00 | 15.6S 144.6E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 1, 12:00 | 15.8S 145.2E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 1, 18:00 | 16.0S 145.7E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 2, 00:00 | 16.2S 146.3E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 2, 06:00 | 16.3S 146.8E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 2, 12:00 | 16.2S 147.4E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 2, 18:00 | 16.2S 147.8E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 3, 00:00 | 16.0S 148.0E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 3, 06:00 | 15.5S 147.7E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 3, 12:00 | 15.0S 147.1E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 3, 18:00 | 14.7S 146.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Jan 4, 00:00 | 14.4S 145.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Jan 4, 06:00 | 13.9S 145.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Jan 4, 12:00 | 13.2S 144.6E | Mixed |
Other South Pacific storms of 1979
- Tropical Storm FaySouth Pacific · 1979
- Cyclone GordonSouth Pacific · 1979
- Tropical Storm GretaSouth Pacific · 1979
- Tropical Storm HenrySouth Pacific · 1979
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1979
- Cyclone KerrySouth Pacific · 1979
- Cyclone RosaSouth Pacific · 1979
- Tropical Storm LeslieSouth Pacific · 1979
- Cyclone MeliSouth Pacific · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1979
- Tropical Storm StanSouth Pacific · 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.
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.