The 1989 season

Tropical Storm Meena (1989)

Tropical Storm Meena peaked at 50 kt in the South Pacific between May 1, 1989 and May 11, 1989, with a lowest pressure of 990 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Tropical Storm Meena, 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.

Open the live map with storms, cones and warnings

The storm

Basin
South Pacific
Dates
May 1, 1989 to May 11, 1989
Peak strength
Tropical Storm, 50 kt (58 mph)
Lowest pressure
990 mb (29.23 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
2.8
Identifier
SH271989

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
May 1, 12:009.1S 161.7E15 ktTropical storm
May 1, 18:009.2S 161.8E20 ktTropical storm
May 2, 00:009.4S 161.8E25 ktTropical storm
May 2, 06:009.7S 161.7E25 ktTropical storm
May 2, 12:0010.1S 161.8E25 ktTropical storm
May 2, 18:0011.0S 161.7E25 ktTropical storm
May 3, 00:0011.8S 161.3E25 ktTropical storm
May 3, 06:0011.4S 161.8E25 ktTropical storm
May 3, 12:0011.1S 161.9E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
May 3, 18:0011.6S 161.5E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
May 4, 00:0012.0S 161.3E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
May 4, 06:0012.4S 161.3E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
May 4, 12:0012.8S 161.2E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
May 4, 18:0013.2S 160.9E40 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 5, 00:0013.6S 160.3E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
May 5, 06:0014.2S 159.8E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
May 5, 12:0014.7S 159.0E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
May 5, 18:0015.2S 158.0E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
May 6, 00:0015.6S 156.9E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
May 6, 06:0015.1S 156.0E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
May 6, 12:0014.7S 155.0E45 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 6, 18:0014.1S 154.1E40 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 7, 00:0013.4S 152.3E40 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 7, 06:0012.8S 151.1E35 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 7, 12:0012.3S 150.3E35 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 7, 18:0012.5S 149.4E35 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 8, 00:0012.5S 148.8E35 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 8, 06:0012.6S 148.0E35 kt995 mbTropical storm
May 8, 12:0012.4S 146.8E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
May 8, 18:0012.3S 144.9E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
May 9, 00:0012.5S 143.3E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
May 9, 06:0012.6S 142.6E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
May 9, 12:0012.6S 141.8E20 kt1005 mbTropical storm
May 9, 18:0011.8S 140.3E25 kt1005 mbTropical storm
May 10, 00:0011.4S 138.7E25 kt1007 mbTropical storm
May 10, 06:0011.7S 137.7E25 kt1006 mbTropical storm
May 10, 12:0011.4S 136.9E25 ktTropical storm
May 10, 18:0011.2S 136.0E25 ktTropical storm
May 11, 00:0011.0S 135.1E25 ktTropical storm

Other South Pacific 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.