The 1987 season

Cyclone Tusi (1987)

Cyclone Tusi reached Category 3 in the South Pacific between January 15, 1987 and January 25, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Tusi, 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 Pacific
Dates
January 15, 1987 to January 25, 1987
Peak strength
Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
Lowest pressure
955 mb (28.20 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 255 km (158 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
11.4
Fastest the center moved
16 kt (18 mph)
Identifier
SH081987

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
Jan 15, 00:008.9S 172.6W25 ktTropical storm
Jan 15, 06:0010.2S 172.0W30 ktTropical storm
Jan 15, 12:0010.9S 171.6W30 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 15, 18:0010.8S 171.3W35 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 00:0010.7S 171.0W35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 06:0010.8S 170.6W40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 12:0010.9S 170.3W45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 18:0010.7S 170.2W55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 00:0010.7S 170.3W55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 06:0011.1S 170.2W60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 12:0011.8S 170.0W70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 18:0012.7S 169.9W90 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 00:0013.6S 169.6W90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 06:0014.3S 169.1W95 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 12:0015.3S 168.6W100 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 18:0016.3S 167.9W95 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 00:0017.4S 167.1W90 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 06:0018.5S 166.5W90 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 12:0019.5S 165.9W70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 18:0020.5S 165.0W45 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 00:0021.5S 163.6W40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 06:0022.4S 161.9W35 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 12:0022.7S 162.7W45 kt987 mbNot reported
Jan 20, 18:0023.2S 162.0W45 kt987 mbNot reported
Jan 21, 00:0023.5S 161.6W45 kt987 mbNot reported
Jan 21, 06:0023.8S 161.3W45 kt987 mbNot reported
Jan 21, 12:0024.1S 161.0W45 kt987 mbNot reported
Jan 21, 18:0024.5S 160.8W45 kt987 mbNot reported
Jan 22, 00:0025.0S 160.6W45 kt987 mbNot reported
Jan 22, 06:0025.5S 160.6W40 kt990 mbNot reported
Jan 22, 12:0025.8S 160.7W40 kt990 mbNot reported
Jan 22, 18:0026.5S 161.4W40 kt990 mbNot reported
Jan 23, 00:0026.7S 162.4W40 kt990 mbNot reported
Jan 23, 06:0026.8S 163.5W40 kt990 mbNot reported
Jan 23, 12:0026.9S 164.5W35 kt995 mbNot reported
Jan 23, 18:0027.0S 165.2W30 kt997 mbNot reported
Jan 24, 00:0027.1S 166.5W30 kt997 mbNot reported
Jan 24, 06:0027.2S 167.8W30 kt997 mbNot reported
Jan 24, 12:0027.5S 169.0W30 kt997 mbNot reported
Jan 24, 18:0028.4S 169.9W30 kt997 mbNot reported
Jan 25, 00:0029.5S 170.0W30 kt997 mbNot reported
Jan 25, 06:0030.5S 170.0W30 kt997 mbNot reported

Other South Pacific 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.