Cyclone Sally (1987)
Cyclone Sally reached Category 1 in the South Pacific between December 26, 1986 and January 5, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Sally, 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
- December 26, 1986 to January 5, 1987
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 955 mb (28.20 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 729 km (453 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 9.1
- Identifier
- SH051987
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 06:00 | 13.0S 165.5W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Dec 26, 12:00 | 13.0S 165.0W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Dec 26, 18:00 | 13.1S 164.5W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Dec 27, 00:00 | 13.3S 164.2W | 35 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
| Dec 27, 06:00 | 13.5S 163.2W | 25 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 27, 12:00 | 13.9S 163.2W | 25 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 27, 18:00 | 14.3S 163.2W | 25 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 28, 00:00 | 14.7S 163.2W | 30 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 28, 06:00 | 15.0S 163.2W | 35 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 28, 12:00 | 15.3S 163.2W | 35 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 28, 18:00 | 15.6S 163.2W | 40 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 00:00 | 15.9S 163.2W | 45 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 06:00 | 16.2S 163.2W | 45 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 12:00 | 16.6S 163.1W | 50 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 18:00 | 16.8S 162.9W | 50 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 30, 00:00 | 17.0S 162.6W | 55 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 30, 06:00 | 17.1S 162.2W | 55 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 30, 12:00 | 17.1S 161.8W | 60 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 30, 18:00 | 17.1S 161.4W | 60 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 31, 00:00 | 17.0S 161.0W | 65 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 31, 06:00 | 16.4S 160.8W | 65 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 31, 12:00 | 16.4S 161.2W | 60 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 31, 18:00 | 16.7S 161.5W | 60 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 1, 00:00 | 17.2S 161.5W | 60 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 1, 06:00 | 17.5S 161.5W | 60 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 1, 12:00 | 17.8S 161.5W | 55 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 1, 18:00 | 18.3S 161.4W | 55 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 2, 00:00 | 18.8S 161.2W | 55 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 2, 06:00 | 19.3S 160.9W | 55 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 2, 12:00 | 19.8S 160.3W | 50 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 2, 18:00 | 20.3S 159.6W | 50 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 3, 00:00 | 20.7S 158.7W | 50 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 3, 06:00 | 21.3S 157.6W | 50 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 3, 12:00 | 21.8S 156.4W | 50 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 3, 18:00 | 22.5S 155.3W | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 4, 00:00 | 23.2S 154.3W | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 4, 06:00 | 24.0S 153.2W | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 4, 12:00 | 24.8S 152.2W | 40 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 4, 18:00 | 25.8S 151.2W | 40 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 5, 00:00 | 26.8S 150.2W | 40 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 5, 06:00 | 28.3S 145.3W | 45 kt | 987 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 5, 12:00 | 31.0S 143.0W | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 5, 18:00 | 34.0S 141.0W | 35 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1987
- Tropical Storm OseaSouth Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm PatsySouth Pacific · 1987
- Cyclone RajaSouth 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
- 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.