Cyclone Ilona (1989)

Basin

South Indian

Dates

December 12, 1988 to December 19, 1988

Peak strength

Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)

Lowest pressure

960 mb (28.35 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

7.8

Fastest the center moved

25 kt (29 mph)

Identifier

SH031989

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.

• Cyclone AdelininaSouth Indian · 1989Cat 175 kt · 991 mb
• Cyclone BarisaonaSouth Indian · 1989Cat 3100 kt · 954 mb
• Cyclone CalasanjySouth Indian · 1989Cat 175 kt · 954 mb
• Tropical Depression DonaSouth Indian · 1989Tropical Depression28 kt · 997 mb
• Cyclone EdmeSouth Indian · 1989Cat 4115 kt · 976 mb
• Tropical Storm JohnSouth Indian · 1989Tropical Storm40 kt · 990 mb
• Cyclone FiringaSouth Indian · 1989Cat 290 kt · 954 mb
• Cyclone KirrilySouth Indian · 1989Cat 175 kt · 955 mb
• Cyclone Hanitra:LeonSouth Indian · 1989Cat 4125 kt · 954 mb
• Cyclone GizelaSouth Indian · 1989Cat 165 kt · 976 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormSouth Indian · 1989Tropical Storm45 kt
• Tropical Storm IanaSouth Indian · 1989Tropical Storm44 kt · 984 mb
• Tropical Storm MarciaSouth Indian · 1989Tropical Storm35 kt · 995 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormSouth Indian · 1989Tropical Storm35 kt
• Cyclone JinaboSouth Indian · 1989Cat 165 kt · 966 mb
• Cyclone NedSouth Indian · 1989Cat 3100 kt · 941 mb
• Tropical Depression KrisySouth Indian · 1989Tropical Depression30 kt
• Cyclone KrisySouth Indian · 1989Cat 3105 kt · 941 mb
• Tropical Storm LezissySouth Indian · 1989Tropical Storm45 kt · 984 mb
• Cyclone OrsonSouth Indian · 1989Cat 5140 kt · 905 mb

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.

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.

• Wikipedia article: Cyclone Ilona