The 1987 season

Cyclone Elizabetha (1987)

Cyclone Elizabetha reached Category 1 in the South Indian between April 20, 1987 and April 29, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 976 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Elizabetha, 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
April 20, 1987 to April 29, 1987
Peak strength
Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
Lowest pressure
976 mb (28.82 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 44 km (27 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
5.8
Identifier
SH241987

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
Apr 20, 00:0026.5S 50.0ETropical storm
Apr 20, 06:0026.3S 49.6E20 ktMixed
Apr 20, 12:0026.2S 49.3E20 ktMixed
Apr 20, 18:0026.1S 48.8E20 ktMixed
Apr 21, 00:0026.0S 48.3E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 06:0026.0S 47.5E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 12:0026.0S 46.5E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 18:0026.0S 45.4E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 00:0026.0S 44.5E24 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 06:0026.4S 44.0E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 12:0026.5S 43.5E40 kt997 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 18:0026.8S 42.9E45 kt997 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 00:0027.1S 42.2E45 kt997 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 06:0027.3S 41.7E45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 12:0027.6S 41.6E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 18:0027.9S 41.8E65 kt984 mbTropical storm
Apr 24, 00:0028.5S 42.4E70 kt984 mbTropical storm
Apr 24, 06:0029.2S 43.0E75 kt976 mbTropical storm
Apr 24, 12:0029.8S 44.1E70 kt976 mbTropical storm
Apr 24, 18:0030.3S 45.8E65 kt984 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 00:0030.8S 47.5E65 kt984 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 06:0031.2S 49.0E65 kt991 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 12:0031.3S 50.6E60 kt991 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 18:0031.3S 52.3E55 kt997 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 00:0031.3S 53.7E50 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 06:0031.1S 54.9E45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 12:0031.0S 56.1E40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 18:0031.0S 57.1E35 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 00:0031.9S 57.9E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 06:0032.1S 58.0E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 12:0032.2S 57.8E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 18:0032.1S 57.4E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 00:0032.1S 57.1E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 06:0032.5S 56.7E20 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 12:0033.7S 56.2EMixed
Apr 28, 18:0034.9S 56.3EMixed
Apr 29, 00:0036.4S 57.0EMixed
Apr 29, 06:0035.9S 56.8EDisturbance

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.