The 1991 season

Cyclone Debra (1991)

Cyclone Debra reached Category 2 in the South Indian between February 22, 1991 and March 4, 1991, with a lowest pressure of 966 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Debra, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1991 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 22, 1991 to March 4, 1991
Peak strength
Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
Lowest pressure
966 mb (28.53 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 78 km (48 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
13.8
Identifier
SH121991

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 22, 06:0021.2S 39.9E24 kt1005 mbSubtropical storm
Feb 22, 12:0022.3S 39.7E24 kt1005 mbSubtropical storm
Feb 22, 18:0023.2S 39.1E24 kt1004 mbSubtropical storm
Feb 23, 00:0023.7S 38.5E24 kt1004 mbSubtropical storm
Feb 23, 06:0024.0S 37.4E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Feb 23, 12:0024.4S 37.1E20 kt1002 mbMixed
Feb 23, 18:0024.8S 36.7E25 kt1002 mbMixed
Feb 24, 00:0025.0S 36.2E30 kt1002 mbMixed
Feb 24, 06:0025.1S 35.7E40 kt1000 mbMixed
Feb 24, 12:0025.2S 35.5E45 kt1000 mbMixed
Feb 24, 18:0025.3S 35.5E55 kt998 mbMixed
Feb 25, 00:0025.5S 35.6E60 kt998 mbMixed
Feb 25, 06:0025.6S 35.9E65 kt997 mbMixed
Feb 25, 12:0025.8S 36.3E75 kt991 mbMixed
Feb 25, 18:0025.8S 36.8E80 kt985 mbMixed
Feb 26, 00:0025.7S 37.3E80 kt978 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 06:0025.5S 37.8E90 kt972 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 12:0025.2S 38.2E90 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 18:0024.8S 38.6E90 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 00:0024.4S 38.8E90 kt966 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 06:0024.2S 38.8E85 kt972 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 12:0024.2S 38.6E80 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 18:0024.4S 38.4E75 kt976 mbTropical storm
Feb 28, 00:0024.7S 38.4E70 kt981 mbTropical storm
Feb 28, 06:0025.1S 38.4E65 kt981 mbTropical storm
Feb 28, 12:0025.4S 38.4E60 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 28, 18:0025.7S 38.4E55 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 1, 00:0026.3S 38.4E55 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 1, 06:0026.3S 38.4E55 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 1, 12:0026.7S 38.5E55 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 1, 18:0027.1S 38.4E55 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 2, 00:0027.5S 38.2E55 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 2, 06:0027.9S 38.0E50 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 2, 12:0028.4S 37.8E50 kt984 mbTropical storm
Mar 2, 18:0029.6S 37.5E50 kt984 mbTropical storm
Mar 3, 00:0031.2S 37.4E50 kt984 mbTropical storm
Mar 3, 06:0033.2S 37.7E50 kt984 mbTropical storm
Mar 3, 12:0035.6S 38.8E50 ktMixed
Mar 3, 18:0038.3S 40.4E50 ktMixed
Mar 4, 00:0040.8S 43.1E50 ktMixed
Mar 4, 06:0042.9S 46.9E50 ktTropical storm

Other South Indian storms of 1991

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.