Cyclone Aivu (1989)
Cyclone Aivu reached Category 4 in the South Pacific between March 29, 1989 and April 5, 1989, with a lowest pressure of 935 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Aivu, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1989 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
- March 29, 1989 to April 5, 1989
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 120 kt (138 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 935 mb (27.61 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 9.6
- Identifier
- SH231989
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 12:00 | 11.4S 158.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 29, 18:00 | 11.3S 157.8E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 00:00 | 11.2S 157.4E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 06:00 | 11.1S 156.9E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 12:00 | 11.1S 156.4E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 18:00 | 11.0S 155.8E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 31, 00:00 | 10.8S 155.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 31, 06:00 | 10.4S 154.4E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 31, 12:00 | 9.9S 153.8E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 31, 18:00 | 10.0S 153.2E | 25 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 1, 00:00 | 10.3S 152.7E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 1, 06:00 | 11.0S 152.4E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 1, 12:00 | 11.8S 151.9E | 45 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 1, 18:00 | 12.9S 151.4E | 50 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 2, 00:00 | 13.9S 150.8E | 60 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 2, 06:00 | 14.9S 150.2E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 2, 12:00 | 15.6S 149.6E | 75 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 2, 18:00 | 16.0S 149.4E | 85 kt | 962 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 3, 00:00 | 16.4S 149.2E | 110 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 3, 06:00 | 17.2S 149.1E | 115 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 3, 12:00 | 17.9S 148.8E | 120 kt | 942 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 3, 18:00 | 18.5S 148.4E | 110 kt | 948 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 4, 00:00 | 19.3S 147.7E | 100 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 4, 06:00 | 20.1S 147.0E | 55 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 4, 12:00 | 20.4S 145.9E | 45 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 4, 18:00 | 20.9S 145.0E | 35 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 5, 00:00 | 22.0S 144.0E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 5, 06:00 | 22.0S 142.8E | 20 kt | 1001 mb | Mixed |
| Apr 5, 12:00 | 22.0S 142.1E | 15 kt | 1003 mb | Mixed |
Other South Pacific storms of 1989
- Tropical Storm EsetaSouth Pacific · 1989
- Tropical Storm DelilahSouth Pacific · 1989
- Tropical Storm FiliSouth Pacific · 1989
- Tropical Storm GinaSouth Pacific · 1989
- Cyclone HarrySouth Pacific · 1989
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1989
- Cyclone HinanoSouth Pacific · 1989
- Cyclone JudySouth Pacific · 1989
- Cyclone IvySouth Pacific · 1989
- Tropical Storm KerrySouth Pacific · 1989
- Cyclone LiliSouth Pacific · 1989
- Tropical Storm MeenaSouth Pacific · 1989
- Tropical Storm ErnieSouth Pacific · 1989
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.