Cyclone Esau (1992)
Cyclone Esau reached Category 4 in the South Pacific between February 24, 1992 and March 9, 1992, with a lowest pressure of 925 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Esau, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1992 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- February 24, 1992 to March 9, 1992
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 130 kt (150 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 925 mb (27.32 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 28.2
- Fastest the center moved
- 24 kt (28 mph)
- Identifier
- SH211992
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) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24, 06:00 | 13.2S 168.5E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Feb 24, 12:00 | 13.7S 168.8E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Feb 24, 18:00 | 14.3S 169.0E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Feb 25, 00:00 | 14.8S 168.8E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Feb 25, 06:00 | 15.2S 168.5E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 25, 12:00 | 15.4S 168.0E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 25, 18:00 | 15.6S 167.7E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 26, 00:00 | 15.7S 167.5E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 26, 06:00 | 15.8S 167.2E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 26, 12:00 | 15.9S 166.8E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 26, 18:00 | 15.9S 166.2E | 40 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 27, 00:00 | 15.8S 165.4E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 27, 06:00 | 15.6S 164.6E | 50 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 27, 12:00 | 15.4S 163.8E | 55 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 27, 18:00 | 15.3S 163.0E | 60 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 28, 00:00 | 15.2S 162.2E | 70 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 28, 06:00 | 15.0S 161.4E | 80 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 28, 12:00 | 14.7S 160.6E | 95 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 28, 18:00 | 14.2S 160.0E | 115 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 29, 00:00 | 13.9S 159.6E | 125 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 29, 06:00 | 13.7S 159.4E | 130 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 29, 12:00 | 13.4S 159.4E | 130 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 29, 18:00 | 13.3S 159.7E | 125 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 1, 00:00 | 13.6S 160.1E | 115 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 1, 06:00 | 14.0S 160.4E | 105 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 1, 12:00 | 14.4S 160.8E | 95 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 1, 18:00 | 14.8S 161.2E | 95 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 2, 00:00 | 15.3S 161.6E | 95 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 2, 06:00 | 15.7S 162.1E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 2, 12:00 | 16.1S 162.7E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 2, 18:00 | 16.5S 163.2E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 00:00 | 16.9S 163.7E | 100 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 06:00 | 17.4S 164.3E | 100 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 12:00 | 18.0S 164.8E | 95 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 18:00 | 18.8S 165.1E | 90 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 00:00 | 19.6S 165.3E | 90 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 06:00 | 20.4S 165.4E | 85 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 12:00 | 21.2S 165.5E | 80 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 18:00 | 22.0S 165.6E | 70 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 00:00 | 22.8S 165.5E | 65 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 06:00 | 23.6S 165.6E | 65 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 12:00 | 24.8S 165.9E | 60 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 18:00 | 26.6S 166.0E | 55 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 00:00 | 28.4S 166.1E | 50 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 06:00 | 30.2S 166.0E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 6, 12:00 | 31.8S 165.7E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 6, 18:00 | 33.2S 165.6E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 7, 00:00 | 34.5S 165.8E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 7, 06:00 | 35.4S 166.9E | 40 kt | 985 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 7, 12:00 | 36.1S 168.3E | 40 kt | 985 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 7, 18:00 | 37.0S 168.3E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 8, 00:00 | 38.0S 171.0E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 8, 06:00 | 38.2S 172.5E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 8, 12:00 | 37.8S 175.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 8, 18:00 | 37.5S 178.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 9, 00:00 | 37.5S 181.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1992
- Cyclone TiaSouth Pacific · 1992
- Cyclone ValSouth Pacific · 1992
- Cyclone WasaSouth Pacific · 1992
- Tropical Storm ArthurSouth Pacific · 1992
- Cyclone BetsySouth Pacific · 1992
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1992
- Cyclone CliffSouth Pacific · 1992
- Cyclone DamanSouth Pacific · 1992
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1992
- Cyclone FranSouth Pacific · 1992
- Tropical Storm GeneSouth Pacific · 1992
- Tropical Storm HettieSouth Pacific · 1992
- Tropical Storm HettieSouth Pacific · 1992
- Cyclone InnisSouth Pacific · 1992
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.