The 1989 season

Cyclone Hanitra:Leon (1989)

Cyclone Hanitra:Leon reached Category 4 in the South Indian between February 13, 1989 and March 1, 1989, with a lowest pressure of 954 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Hanitra:Leon, 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.

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The storm

Basin
South Indian
Dates
February 13, 1989 to March 1, 1989
Peak strength
Category 4, 125 kt (144 mph)
Lowest pressure
954 mb (28.17 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 680 km (423 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
35.9
Identifier
SH111989

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
Feb 13, 06:0012.0S 102.0E20 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Feb 13, 12:0012.2S 101.1E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 13, 18:0012.4S 100.2E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 00:0012.6S 100.5E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 06:0012.5S 100.2E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 12:0012.3S 100.0E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 14, 18:0012.5S 99.8E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 00:0012.5S 100.1E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 06:0012.6S 100.3E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 12:0012.7S 100.6E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 18:0012.8S 101.0E25 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 16, 00:0013.0S 101.3E25 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Feb 16, 06:0013.4S 101.2E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Feb 16, 12:0013.6S 100.8E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Feb 16, 18:0013.6S 100.3E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Feb 17, 00:0013.8S 99.6E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Feb 17, 06:0014.0S 98.9E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Feb 17, 12:0014.2S 97.9E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Feb 17, 18:0013.9S 96.9E35 kt999 mbTropical storm
Feb 18, 00:0013.5S 95.8E45 kt997 mbTropical storm
Feb 18, 06:0013.1S 94.7E55 kt995 mbTropical storm
Feb 18, 12:0013.1S 93.6E55 kt993 mbTropical storm
Feb 18, 18:0013.1S 92.4E50 kt992 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 00:0013.0S 91.3E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 06:0012.9S 90.2E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 12:0012.6S 89.0E55 kt988 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 18:0012.6S 87.9E65 ktTropical storm
Feb 20, 00:0012.7S 86.8E75 ktTropical storm
Feb 20, 06:0012.7S 85.9E90 ktTropical storm
Feb 20, 12:0012.7S 85.3E105 ktTropical storm
Feb 20, 18:0012.7S 84.7E115 ktTropical storm
Feb 21, 00:0012.8S 84.1E110 ktTropical storm
Feb 21, 06:0012.8S 83.6E105 ktTropical storm
Feb 21, 12:0012.9S 83.3E115 ktTropical storm
Feb 21, 18:0013.0S 83.1E115 ktTropical storm
Feb 22, 00:0013.2S 82.8E115 ktTropical storm
Feb 22, 06:0013.5S 82.6E120 ktTropical storm
Feb 22, 12:0013.8S 82.4E125 ktTropical storm
Feb 22, 18:0014.2S 82.1E125 ktTropical storm
Feb 23, 00:0014.6S 81.8E125 ktTropical storm
Feb 23, 06:0014.9S 81.3E125 ktTropical storm
Feb 23, 12:0015.3S 80.7E125 ktTropical storm
Feb 23, 18:0015.8S 80.1E120 ktTropical storm
Feb 24, 00:0016.2S 79.5E120 kt954 mbTropical storm
Feb 24, 06:0016.5S 78.8E115 kt954 mbTropical storm
Feb 24, 12:0016.9S 78.1E110 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 24, 18:0017.4S 77.4E105 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 25, 00:0017.9S 76.8E105 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 25, 06:0018.5S 76.1E100 kt954 mbTropical storm
Feb 25, 12:0019.1S 75.4E90 kt954 mbTropical storm
Feb 25, 18:0019.7S 74.7E85 kt954 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 00:0020.4S 74.0E80 kt954 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 06:0021.2S 73.4E75 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 12:0022.2S 72.7E75 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 18:0023.5S 72.2E70 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 00:0024.9S 71.7E65 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 06:0026.4S 71.4E65 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 27, 12:0028.0S 71.3E55 kt984 mbMixed
Feb 27, 18:0029.5S 71.5E50 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 28, 00:0030.7S 71.8E45 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 28, 06:0031.7S 72.1E35 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 28, 12:0032.2S 72.6E30 kt997 mbMixed
Feb 28, 18:0032.6S 73.2E25 kt1000 mbMixed
Mar 1, 00:0033.1S 73.8E25 ktMixed
Mar 1, 06:0033.8S 74.4E25 ktMixed

Other South Indian storms of 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.