The 1983 season

Tropical Storm Des (1983)

Tropical Storm Des peaked at 55 kt in the South Pacific between January 13, 1983 and January 24, 1983, with a lowest pressure of 994 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Tropical Storm Des, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1983 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

Open the live map with storms, cones and warnings

The storm

Basin
South Pacific
Dates
January 13, 1983 to January 24, 1983
Peak strength
Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
Lowest pressure
994 mb (29.35 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
3.8
Identifier
SH091983

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)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jan 13, 18:0014.6S 142.6E15 ktTropical storm
Jan 14, 00:0014.8S 144.1E15 ktTropical storm
Jan 14, 06:0015.2S 145.3E20 ktTropical storm
Jan 14, 12:0015.9S 146.2E20 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jan 14, 18:0016.5S 147.1E25 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Jan 15, 00:0016.8S 147.9E25 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Jan 15, 06:0017.2S 148.8E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jan 15, 12:0017.5S 149.7E35 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Jan 15, 18:0017.9S 150.7E40 kt999 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 00:0018.3S 151.6E45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 06:0018.8S 152.5E50 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 12:0019.2S 153.4E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 18:0019.6S 154.2E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 00:0020.1S 154.8E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 06:0020.6S 155.4E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 12:0021.1S 156.0E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 18:0021.5S 156.5E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 00:0021.9S 156.9E55 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 06:0022.1S 157.2E50 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 12:0021.9S 157.7E50 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 18:0021.4S 158.2E45 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 00:0020.9S 158.3E40 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 06:0020.3S 158.0E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 12:0019.6S 157.6E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 18:0018.8S 157.1E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 00:0017.9S 156.6E30 kt999 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 06:0016.9S 156.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 12:0016.1S 155.8E30 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 18:0015.4S 155.5E30 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 00:0014.9S 155.2E30 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 06:0014.5S 154.8E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 12:0014.1S 154.6E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 18:0013.7S 154.5E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 00:0013.1S 154.5E25 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 06:0012.5S 154.6E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 12:0012.0S 155.0E20 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 18:0011.6S 155.7E25 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 00:0011.5S 156.8E25 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 06:0011.7S 157.8E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 23, 12:0012.0S 158.3E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 23, 18:0012.2S 158.8E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 24, 00:0012.2S 159.2E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 24, 06:0012.2S 159.7E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 24, 12:0012.2S 160.2E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 24, 18:0012.2S 160.8E20 ktTropical storm

Other South Pacific storms of 1983

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.