The 1989 season

Cyclone Orson (1989)

Cyclone Orson reached Category 5 in the South Indian between April 16, 1989 and April 24, 1989, with a lowest pressure of 905 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Orson, 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
April 16, 1989 to April 24, 1989
Peak strength
Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
Lowest pressure
905 mb (26.72 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
18.8
Fastest the center moved
33 kt (38 mph)
Identifier
SH261989

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
Apr 16, 06:0010.6S 127.6E20 ktTropical storm
Apr 16, 12:0011.1S 127.5E20 ktTropical storm
Apr 16, 18:0011.7S 127.3E25 ktTropical storm
Apr 17, 00:0012.1S 127.0E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 17, 06:0012.5S 126.5E25 kt999 mbTropical storm
Apr 17, 12:0012.7S 126.1E25 kt999 mbTropical storm
Apr 17, 18:0013.0S 125.6E30 kt999 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 00:0013.1S 125.1E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 06:0013.1S 124.4E35 kt991 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 12:0013.1S 123.7E35 kt987 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 18:0013.0S 123.0E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 00:0012.8S 122.3E50 kt981 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 06:0012.5S 121.6E55 kt976 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 12:0012.3S 121.0E65 kt967 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 18:0012.0S 120.5E70 kt954 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 00:0012.0S 119.9E75 kt945 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 06:0012.0S 119.3E80 kt939 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 12:0012.3S 118.7E85 kt933 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 18:0012.8S 118.1E95 kt929 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 00:0013.4S 117.7E105 kt922 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 06:0013.9S 117.2E110 kt914 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 12:0014.6S 116.8E115 kt906 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 18:0015.5S 116.4E120 kt905 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 00:0016.4S 116.3E125 kt905 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 06:0017.4S 116.2E140 kt905 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 12:0018.6S 116.3E140 kt905 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 18:0020.1S 116.3E125 kt911 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 00:0022.0S 116.6E100 kt950 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 06:0024.1S 117.4E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 12:0025.8S 119.3E55 kt993 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 18:0027.8S 120.7E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Apr 24, 00:0029.6S 123.3E30 kt999 mbMixed
Apr 24, 06:0031.0S 126.5E25 kt1000 mbMixed
Apr 24, 12:0032.0S 130.2E20 kt1000 mbExtratropical

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.