The 1993 season

Cyclone Prema (1993)

Cyclone Prema reached Category 4 in the South Pacific between March 24, 1993 and April 6, 1993, with a lowest pressure of 975 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Prema, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1993 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 Pacific
Dates
March 24, 1993 to April 6, 1993
Peak strength
Category 4, 125 kt (144 mph)
Lowest pressure
975 mb (28.79 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 69 km (43 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
20.3
Fastest the center moved
35 kt (40 mph)
Identifier
SH231993

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
Mar 24, 00:0012.2S 178.7W20 ktTropical storm
Mar 24, 06:0012.2S 179.3W20 ktTropical storm
Mar 24, 12:0012.2S 179.9W20 ktTropical storm
Mar 24, 18:0012.2S 179.5E20 ktTropical storm
Mar 25, 00:0012.2S 178.8E20 ktTropical storm
Mar 25, 06:0012.2S 177.9E25 ktTropical storm
Mar 25, 12:0012.1S 176.9E25 ktTropical storm
Mar 25, 18:0011.9S 175.8E25 ktTropical storm
Mar 26, 00:0011.8S 174.7E25 ktTropical storm
Mar 26, 06:0012.0S 173.6E25 ktTropical storm
Mar 26, 12:0012.6S 172.8E25 ktTropical storm
Mar 26, 18:0013.3S 172.3E25 ktTropical storm
Mar 27, 00:0013.7S 172.0E30 ktTropical storm
Mar 27, 06:0014.0S 171.8E35 ktTropical storm
Mar 27, 12:0014.3S 171.5E40 ktTropical storm
Mar 27, 18:0014.6S 171.3E50 ktTropical storm
Mar 28, 00:0014.9S 171.0E60 ktTropical storm
Mar 28, 06:0015.2S 170.7E75 ktTropical storm
Mar 28, 12:0015.4S 170.3E95 ktTropical storm
Mar 28, 18:0015.6S 169.8E110 ktTropical storm
Mar 29, 00:0015.9S 169.2E120 ktTropical storm
Mar 29, 06:0016.4S 168.7E125 ktTropical storm
Mar 29, 12:0017.0S 168.2E125 ktTropical storm
Mar 29, 18:0017.7S 167.8E125 ktTropical storm
Mar 30, 00:0018.5S 167.5E125 ktTropical storm
Mar 30, 06:0019.3S 167.4E125 ktTropical storm
Mar 30, 12:0020.3S 167.9E125 ktTropical storm
Mar 30, 18:0021.1S 168.8E120 ktTropical storm
Mar 31, 00:0022.0S 170.0E115 ktTropical storm
Mar 31, 06:0023.1S 171.7E105 ktTropical storm
Mar 31, 12:0024.0S 173.6E90 ktTropical storm
Mar 31, 18:0024.9S 175.7E80 ktTropical storm
Apr 1, 00:0025.7S 177.8E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Apr 1, 06:0026.4S 179.9W60 kt980 mbExtratropical
Apr 1, 12:0027.2S 177.4W50 kt990 mbExtratropical
Apr 1, 18:0027.5S 186.0E35 kt995 mbNot reported
Apr 2, 00:0028.5S 189.0E30 kt997 mbNot reported
Apr 2, 06:0029.5S 191.1E30 kt997 mbNot reported
Apr 2, 12:0030.2S 193.0E30 kt997 mbNot reported
Apr 2, 18:0030.9S 195.0E25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Apr 3, 00:0031.3S 197.0E25 kt1005 mbNot reported
Apr 3, 06:0031.9S 199.3E25 kt1005 mbNot reported
Apr 3, 12:0032.4S 201.4E25 kt1005 mbNot reported
Apr 3, 18:0032.8S 203.2E25 kt1005 mbNot reported
Apr 4, 00:0033.0S 205.0E25 kt1005 mbNot reported
Apr 4, 06:0033.0S 207.5E25 kt1002 mbNot reported
Apr 4, 12:0033.0S 210.0E25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Apr 4, 18:0033.8S 213.0E25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Apr 5, 00:0035.0S 217.0E25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Apr 5, 06:0036.5S 219.4ENot reported
Apr 5, 12:0038.0S 221.0E25 kt999 mbNot reported
Apr 5, 18:0039.1S 222.9ENot reported
Apr 6, 00:0040.0S 225.0E25 kt998 mbNot reported

Other South Pacific storms of 1993

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.