Cyclone Fran (1992)
Cyclone Fran reached Category 5 in the South Pacific between March 4, 1992 and March 21, 1992, with a lowest pressure of 920 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Fran, 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
- March 4, 1992 to March 21, 1992
- Peak strength
- Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 920 mb (27.17 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 35.6
- Fastest the center moved
- 43 kt (49 mph)
- Identifier
- SH251992
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 00:00 | 10.4S 176.3W | 20 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Mar 4, 06:00 | 10.7S 176.8W | 20 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Mar 4, 12:00 | 11.1S 177.2W | 20 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Mar 4, 18:00 | 11.5S 177.6W | 20 kt | 997 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 5, 00:00 | 12.0S 177.5W | 20 kt | 997 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 5, 06:00 | 12.4S 177.5W | 20 kt | 997 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 5, 12:00 | 12.8S 177.5W | 25 kt | 990 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 5, 18:00 | 13.3S 177.6W | 25 kt | 990 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 6, 00:00 | 13.5S 178.0W | 35 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 06:00 | 13.7S 178.5W | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 12:00 | 13.8S 179.2W | 50 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 18:00 | 13.9S 179.8W | 60 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 7, 00:00 | 14.2S 179.4E | 70 kt | 970 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 7, 06:00 | 14.6S 178.4E | 80 kt | 965 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 7, 12:00 | 14.9S 177.3E | 90 kt | 960 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 7, 18:00 | 15.4S 176.2E | 100 kt | 985 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 8, 00:00 | 15.9S 174.8E | 105 kt | 940 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 8, 06:00 | 16.4S 173.4E | 115 kt | 940 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 8, 12:00 | 16.8S 172.1E | 125 kt | 925 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 8, 18:00 | 17.3S 170.8E | 140 kt | 920 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 9, 00:00 | 17.9S 169.6E | 135 kt | 920 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 9, 06:00 | 18.4S 168.4E | 130 kt | 920 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 9, 12:00 | 18.9S 167.2E | 125 kt | 925 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 9, 18:00 | 19.2S 166.0E | 120 kt | 925 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 10, 00:00 | 19.5S 164.8E | 115 kt | 930 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 10, 06:00 | 19.6S 163.7E | 110 kt | 940 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 10, 12:00 | 19.6S 162.5E | 105 kt | 940 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 10, 18:00 | 19.6S 161.4E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 00:00 | 19.7S 160.3E | 95 kt | 955 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 19.8S 159.3E | 90 kt | 960 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 19.9S 158.4E | 88 kt | 960 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 18:00 | 19.9S 157.6E | 85 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 00:00 | 19.9S 156.9E | 88 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 06:00 | 19.9S 156.3E | 90 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 12:00 | 19.9S 155.8E | 90 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 18:00 | 20.0S 155.5E | 90 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 00:00 | 20.3S 155.4E | 88 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 06:00 | 20.6S 155.3E | 85 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 12:00 | 20.7S 155.1E | 83 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 18:00 | 20.8S 154.7E | 80 kt | 960 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 00:00 | 20.9S 154.3E | 75 kt | 970 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 06:00 | 21.0S 153.8E | 70 kt | 975 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 12:00 | 21.1S 153.3E | 65 kt | 975 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 18:00 | 21.4S 152.8E | 60 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 00:00 | 21.9S 152.3E | 55 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 06:00 | 22.5S 151.9E | 50 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 12:00 | 23.2S 151.5E | 48 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 18:00 | 23.8S 151.4E | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 00:00 | 24.3S 152.0E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 06:00 | 24.7S 152.9E | 45 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 12:00 | 24.8S 153.7E | 45 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 18:00 | 24.9S 154.6E | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 00:00 | 25.1S 155.4E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 06:00 | 25.3S 156.2E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 12:00 | 25.5S 158.6E | 40 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 18:00 | 25.5S 159.5E | Not reported | ||
| Mar 18, 00:00 | 26.4S 161.1E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 18, 06:00 | 27.4S 164.9E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 18, 12:00 | 28.1S 167.0E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 18, 18:00 | 28.9S 169.8E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 19, 00:00 | 29.6S 173.1E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 19, 06:00 | 31.9S 177.3E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 19, 12:00 | 33.5S 181.0E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 19, 18:00 | 35.0S 185.0E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 20, 00:00 | 36.5S 186.5E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 20, 06:00 | 36.5S 190.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 20, 12:00 | 36.4S 191.5E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 20, 18:00 | 35.9S 192.8E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 21, 00:00 | 35.5S 194.0E | 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 EsauSouth 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.