Tropical Depression Irma (1987)
Tropical Depression Irma peaked at 30 kt in the South Pacific between January 19, 1987 and January 22, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 978 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Tropical Depression Irma. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.























Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- January 19, 1987 to January 22, 1987
- Peak strength
- Tropical Depression, 30 kt (35 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 978 mb (28.88 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.0
- Identifier
- SH111987
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 19, 00:00 | 12.4S 139.8E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 19, 06:00 | 12.6S 139.0E | 30 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 19, 12:00 | 12.8S 138.3E | 30 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 19, 18:00 | 13.0S 137.7E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 20, 00:00 | 13.2S 137.1E | 30 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 20, 06:00 | 13.4S 136.5E | 30 kt | 978 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 20, 12:00 | 13.6S 135.7E | 30 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 20, 18:00 | 14.2S 134.8E | 30 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 21, 00:00 | 15.1S 134.0E | 30 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 21, 06:00 | 15.9S 133.3E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 21, 12:00 | 16.5S 133.0E | 30 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 21, 18:00 | 16.9S 132.8E | 30 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 22, 00:00 | 17.3S 132.4E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 22, 06:00 | 17.6S 132.0E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 22, 12:00 | 17.7S 132.0E | 30 kt | Tropical storm |
Other South Pacific storms of 1987
- Tropical Storm OseaSouth Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm PatsySouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone RajaSouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone SallySouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone TusiSouth Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone Uma:VeliSouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone JasonSouth Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm VeliSouth Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone WiniSouth Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone YaliSouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone KaySouth Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm ZumanSouth Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm Blanch:BlancheSouth Pacific · 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.