Cyclone Ditra (1985)

Cyclone Ditra reached Category 1 in the South Indian between January 25, 1985 and February 1, 1985, with a lowest pressure of 966 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Ditra, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1985 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin: South Indian
Dates: January 25, 1985 to February 1, 1985
Peak strength: Category 1, 70 kt (81 mph)
Lowest pressure: 966 mb (28.53 inHg)
Landfall: No; closest approach 348 km (216 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy: 6.6
Identifier: SH161985

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
Jan 25, 06:00	9.3S 72.6E			Tropical storm
Jan 25, 12:00	10.0S 71.4E			Tropical storm
Jan 25, 18:00	10.9S 70.1E			Tropical storm
Jan 26, 00:00	12.6S 68.3E	25 kt		XX
Jan 26, 06:00	13.3S 67.7E	30 kt		XX
Jan 26, 12:00	13.9S 67.3E	35 kt		XX
Jan 26, 18:00	14.4S 67.0E	35 kt		XX
Jan 27, 00:00	14.9S 66.7E	40 kt		XX
Jan 27, 06:00	15.4S 66.5E	40 kt		XX
Jan 27, 12:00	15.8S 66.3E	45 kt		XX
Jan 27, 18:00	16.2S 66.3E	50 kt	997 mb	XX
Jan 28, 00:00	16.6S 66.2E	55 kt	991 mb	XX
Jan 28, 06:00	16.9S 66.2E	60 kt	991 mb	XX
Jan 28, 12:00	17.3S 66.1E	65 kt	984 mb	XX
Jan 28, 18:00	17.7S 66.0E	70 kt	984 mb	XX
Jan 29, 00:00	18.2S 65.7E	70 kt	976 mb	XX
Jan 29, 06:00	18.6S 65.2E	70 kt	976 mb	XX
Jan 29, 12:00	19.0S 64.6E	70 kt	984 mb	XX
Jan 29, 18:00	19.3S 64.1E	70 kt	976 mb	XX
Jan 30, 00:00	19.7S 63.6E	65 kt	966 mb	XX
Jan 30, 06:00	20.0S 63.0E	60 kt	966 mb	XX
Jan 30, 12:00	20.4S 62.3E	55 kt	984 mb	XX
Jan 30, 18:00	21.0S 61.4E	50 kt	984 mb	XX
Jan 31, 00:00	22.2S 60.6E	45 kt	991 mb	XX
Jan 31, 06:00	23.7S 60.4E	40 kt	997 mb	XX
Jan 31, 12:00	25.3S 60.7E	35 kt	997 mb	XX
Jan 31, 18:00	26.9S 61.3E	30 kt	997 mb	XX
Feb 1, 00:00	28.6S 62.3E	30 kt	1000 mb	XX
Feb 1, 06:00	33.0S 66.0E	36 kt		XX
Feb 1, 12:00	35.2S 67.2E	36 kt		Disturbance

Other South Indian storms of 1985

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.