Cyclone Nigel (1985)
Cyclone Nigel reached Category 3 in the South Pacific between January 14, 1985 and January 28, 1985, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Nigel, 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.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- January 14, 1985 to January 28, 1985
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 105 kt (121 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 955 mb (28.20 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 10.5
- Fastest the center moved
- 25 kt (29 mph)
- Identifier
- SH131985
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 14, 00:00 | 16.3S 150.9E | 25 kt | XX | |
| Jan 14, 06:00 | 16.3S 151.4E | 25 kt | 1005 mb | XX |
| Jan 14, 12:00 | 16.4S 151.9E | 25 kt | 1001 mb | XX |
| Jan 14, 18:00 | 16.4S 152.4E | 25 kt | 1001 mb | XX |
| Jan 15, 00:00 | 16.5S 152.9E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | XX |
| Jan 15, 06:00 | 16.4S 153.7E | 25 kt | 1003 mb | XX |
| Jan 15, 12:00 | 16.2S 154.5E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | XX |
| Jan 15, 18:00 | 16.1S 155.3E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | XX |
| Jan 16, 00:00 | 16.0S 156.1E | 35 kt | 998 mb | XX |
| Jan 16, 06:00 | 16.0S 157.3E | 40 kt | 998 mb | XX |
| Jan 16, 12:00 | 15.9S 158.7E | 50 kt | 996 mb | XX |
| Jan 16, 18:00 | 15.8S 160.1E | 55 kt | XX | |
| Jan 17, 00:00 | 15.7S 161.5E | 65 kt | 980 mb | XX |
| Jan 17, 06:00 | 15.6S 163.0E | 70 kt | XX | |
| Jan 17, 12:00 | 15.5S 164.6E | 75 kt | 970 mb | XX |
| Jan 17, 18:00 | 15.5S 166.2E | 75 kt | XX | |
| Jan 18, 00:00 | 15.5S 167.9E | 80 kt | 965 mb | XX |
| Jan 18, 06:00 | 15.6S 169.5E | 85 kt | XX | |
| Jan 18, 12:00 | 15.8S 171.2E | 90 kt | 960 mb | XX |
| Jan 18, 18:00 | 16.2S 173.1E | 100 kt | XX | |
| Jan 19, 00:00 | 16.7S 175.3E | 105 kt | 955 mb | XX |
| Jan 19, 06:00 | 17.3S 177.7E | 100 kt | XX | |
| Jan 19, 12:00 | 18.0S 179.9W | 85 kt | 987 mb | XX |
| Jan 19, 18:00 | 18.7S 177.5W | 70 kt | XX | |
| Jan 20, 00:00 | 19.4S 175.1W | 60 kt | 987 mb | XX |
| Jan 20, 06:00 | 19.9S 172.8W | 50 kt | XX | |
| Jan 20, 12:00 | 20.2S 170.8W | 40 kt | 987 mb | XX |
| Jan 20, 18:00 | 20.5S 169.1W | 35 kt | XX | |
| Jan 21, 00:00 | 20.8S 167.7W | 30 kt | 990 mb | XX |
| Jan 21, 06:00 | 21.5S 191.4E | XX | ||
| Jan 21, 12:00 | 21.5S 192.2E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 21, 18:00 | 21.5S 193.2E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 22, 00:00 | 21.5S 194.0E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 22, 06:00 | 21.4S 194.5E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 22, 12:00 | 21.4S 194.9E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 22, 18:00 | 21.4S 195.2E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 23, 00:00 | 21.5S 195.4E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 23, 06:00 | 21.5S 195.5E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 23, 12:00 | 21.5S 195.6E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 23, 18:00 | 21.5S 195.5E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 24, 00:00 | 21.5S 195.4E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 24, 06:00 | 21.5S 195.4E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 24, 12:00 | 21.6S 195.2E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 24, 18:00 | 21.7S 194.9E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 25, 00:00 | 21.9S 194.4E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 25, 06:00 | 22.2S 193.7E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 25, 12:00 | 22.6S 192.8E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 25, 18:00 | 23.0S 191.6E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 26, 00:00 | 23.4S 190.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 26, 06:00 | 23.8S 188.0E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 26, 12:00 | 24.2S 186.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 26, 18:00 | 24.5S 184.4E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 27, 00:00 | 24.8S 182.9E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 27, 06:00 | 25.2S 181.1E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 27, 12:00 | 26.1S 179.5E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 27, 18:00 | 27.8S 178.2E | Not reported | ||
| Jan 28, 00:00 | 30.0S 177.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1985
- Cyclone MonicaSouth Pacific · 1985
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1985
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1985
- Tropical Storm DrenaSouth Pacific · 1985
- Cyclone EricSouth Pacific · 1985
- Cyclone OdetteSouth Pacific · 1985
- Cyclone FredaSouth Pacific · 1985
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1985
- Tropical Storm PierreSouth Pacific · 1985
- Tropical Storm RebeccaSouth Pacific · 1985
- Tropical Storm GavinSouth Pacific · 1985
- Cyclone HinaSouth Pacific · 1985
- Cyclone SandySouth Pacific · 1985
- Tropical Storm TanyaSouth Pacific · 1985
- Tropical Storm GretelSouth Pacific · 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.