Cyclone Kay (1987)
Cyclone Kay reached Category 1 in the South Pacific between April 6, 1987 and April 17, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 976 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Kay, 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.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- April 6, 1987 to April 17, 1987
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 976 mb (28.82 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 7.9
- Identifier
- SH231987
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 6, 00:00 | 11.1S 143.7E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 6, 06:00 | 10.7S 143.6E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 6, 12:00 | 10.3S 143.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 6, 18:00 | 9.9S 142.8E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 7, 00:00 | 9.5S 142.3E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 7, 06:00 | 9.2S 141.6E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 7, 12:00 | 8.9S 141.0E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 7, 18:00 | 8.7S 140.2E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 8, 00:00 | 8.6S 139.6E | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 8, 06:00 | 8.5S 139.1E | 35 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 8, 12:00 | 8.6S 138.0E | 35 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 8, 18:00 | 9.0S 137.1E | 35 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 9, 00:00 | 9.3S 136.3E | 40 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 9, 06:00 | 9.8S 135.5E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 9, 12:00 | 10.3S 134.4E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 9, 18:00 | 10.8S 133.4E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 10, 00:00 | 11.1S 132.6E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 10, 06:00 | 11.1S 131.8E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 10, 12:00 | 11.2S 130.9E | 45 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 10, 18:00 | 11.4S 129.7E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 11, 00:00 | 11.7S 128.5E | 45 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 11, 06:00 | 12.1S 127.3E | 45 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 11, 12:00 | 12.4S 126.2E | 45 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 11, 18:00 | 12.9S 125.1E | 45 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 12, 00:00 | 13.4S 124.2E | 50 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 12, 06:00 | 13.7S 123.5E | 50 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 12, 12:00 | 14.0S 122.8E | 55 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 12, 18:00 | 14.3S 122.1E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 13, 00:00 | 14.6S 121.4E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 13, 06:00 | 14.9S 121.0E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 13, 12:00 | 14.9S 120.6E | 55 kt | 976 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 13, 18:00 | 14.9S 120.0E | 55 kt | 976 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 14, 00:00 | 14.8S 119.3E | 55 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 14, 06:00 | 14.8S 118.6E | 55 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 14, 12:00 | 14.8S 117.9E | 55 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 14, 18:00 | 14.9S 117.1E | 50 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 15, 00:00 | 15.1S 115.9E | 45 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 15, 06:00 | 15.5S 114.7E | 45 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 15, 12:00 | 15.8S 113.6E | 45 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 15, 18:00 | 16.0S 112.7E | 40 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 00:00 | 16.6S 111.6E | 35 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 06:00 | 17.5S 110.6E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 12:00 | 18.4S 109.9E | 35 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 18:00 | 19.2S 109.2E | 35 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 00:00 | 19.9S 108.1E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | 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
- Tropical Depression IrmaSouth 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
- 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.