Cyclone Namu (1986)
Cyclone Namu reached Category 1 in the South Pacific between May 15, 1986 and May 23, 1986, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Namu, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1986 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
- May 15, 1986 to May 23, 1986
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 80 kt (92 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 955 mb (28.20 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 8.1
- Fastest the center moved
- 15 kt (17 mph)
- Identifier
- SH331986
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 00:00 | 7.1S 160.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 15, 06:00 | 7.1S 160.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| May 15, 12:00 | 5.3S 161.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 15, 18:00 | 5.4S 161.5E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 16, 00:00 | 5.6S 162.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 16, 06:00 | 5.8S 162.6E | 28 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 16, 12:00 | 6.2S 163.3E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 16, 18:00 | 6.7S 164.0E | 35 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 17, 00:00 | 7.3S 164.5E | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 17, 06:00 | 7.8S 164.4E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 17, 12:00 | 8.3S 164.0E | 50 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 17, 18:00 | 8.6S 163.5E | 55 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 18, 00:00 | 8.9S 162.8E | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 18, 06:00 | 9.2S 162.1E | 63 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 18, 12:00 | 9.5S 161.4E | 65 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 18, 18:00 | 9.8S 160.8E | 60 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 19, 00:00 | 10.1S 160.2E | 55 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 19, 06:00 | 10.5S 159.6E | 55 kt | 969 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 19, 12:00 | 11.1S 159.1E | 55 kt | 966 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 19, 18:00 | 11.9S 158.7E | 60 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 20, 00:00 | 12.9S 158.5E | 65 kt | 963 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 20, 06:00 | 13.7S 158.3E | 73 kt | 961 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 20, 12:00 | 14.6S 158.4E | 80 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 20, 18:00 | 15.7S 158.9E | 80 kt | 964 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 21, 00:00 | 16.7S 159.7E | 80 kt | 972 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 21, 06:00 | 17.3S 160.5E | 70 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 21, 12:00 | 17.7S 161.4E | 60 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 21, 18:00 | 18.2S 162.3E | 50 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 22, 00:00 | 18.6S 163.1E | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 22, 06:00 | 18.9S 163.9E | 35 kt | Not reported | |
| May 22, 12:00 | 19.1S 164.7E | 30 kt | Not reported | |
| May 22, 18:00 | 19.2S 165.6E | 28 kt | Not reported | |
| May 23, 00:00 | 19.2S 166.6E | 25 kt | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1986
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1986
- Tropical Storm VernonSouth Pacific · 1986
- Cyclone WinifredSouth Pacific · 1986
- Cyclone ImaSouth Pacific · 1986
- Tropical Storm JuneSouth Pacific · 1986
- Tropical Storm KeliSouth Pacific · 1986
- Tropical Storm LusiSouth Pacific · 1986
- Tropical Storm AlfredSouth Pacific · 1986
- Cyclone MartinSouth Pacific · 1986
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1986
- Cyclone ManuSouth Pacific · 1986
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.