The 1987 season

Tropical Storm Clotilda (1987)

Tropical Storm Clotilda peaked at 52 kt in the South Indian between February 9, 1987 and February 22, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 970 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Tropical Storm Clotilda, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1987 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
February 9, 1987 to February 22, 1987
Peak strength
Tropical Storm, 52 kt (60 mph)
Lowest pressure
970 mb (28.64 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
6.2
Fastest the center moved
23 kt (26 mph)
Identifier
SH171987

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
Feb 9, 06:0018.9S 51.0E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Feb 9, 12:0019.2S 51.1E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Feb 9, 18:0019.8S 51.2E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Feb 10, 00:0020.1S 51.4E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Feb 10, 06:0020.7S 51.6E36 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 10, 12:0021.3S 53.5E25 kt997 mbTropical storm
Feb 10, 18:0021.3S 53.6E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
Feb 11, 00:0021.2S 53.7E30 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 11, 06:0021.1S 53.8E30 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 11, 12:0021.1S 53.9E35 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 11, 18:0021.0S 54.0E35 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 00:0021.0S 54.1E35 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 06:0020.9S 54.3E35 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 12:0020.9S 54.5E40 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 18:0020.8S 54.8E45 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 13, 00:0020.8S 55.2E45 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 13, 06:0020.9S 55.6E45 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 13, 12:0021.0S 56.1E45 kt970 mbTropical storm
Feb 13, 18:0020.9S 56.4E45 kt970 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 00:0020.8S 56.5E40 kt970 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 06:0020.7S 56.4E40 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 12:0020.7S 56.1E35 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 18:0021.1S 55.7E35 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 00:0021.6S 55.1E35 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 06:0022.1S 54.6E30 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 12:0022.6S 53.9E30 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 18:0023.0S 53.0E30 kt976 mbMixed
Feb 16, 00:0023.7S 51.8E25 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 16, 06:0024.8S 51.6E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 16, 12:0025.1S 50.9E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 16, 18:0025.3S 50.3E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 17, 00:0025.7S 49.6E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 17, 06:0026.8S 49.2E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 17, 12:0027.8S 49.3E52 kt976 mbMixed
Feb 17, 18:0028.8S 49.5E44 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 18, 00:0029.6S 50.3E44 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 18, 06:0030.2S 50.9E44 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 18, 12:0030.5S 51.3E44 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 18, 18:0030.2S 52.2E44 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 19, 00:0029.8S 53.3E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 19, 06:0029.8S 54.7E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 19, 12:0030.4S 56.6E36 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 19, 18:0030.9S 58.5E36 ktMixed
Feb 20, 00:0031.0S 60.9E36 ktMixed
Feb 20, 06:0031.1S 63.2E36 ktMixed
Feb 20, 12:0031.3S 65.3E36 ktMixed
Feb 20, 18:0031.8S 66.9E36 ktMixed
Feb 21, 00:0032.6S 68.5E36 ktMixed
Feb 21, 06:0033.4S 69.7E36 ktMixed
Feb 21, 12:0034.6S 71.5E36 ktMixed
Feb 21, 18:0035.8S 73.4E36 ktMixed
Feb 22, 00:0037.0S 75.3E36 ktMixed
Feb 22, 06:0038.0S 77.0E36 ktDisturbance

Other South Indian storms of 1987

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.