Cyclone Thomas:Tomas (1994)
Cyclone Thomas:Tomas reached Category 3 in the South Pacific between March 19, 1994 and March 27, 1994, with a lowest pressure of 987 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Cyclone Thomas:Tomas. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.























Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- March 19, 1994 to March 27, 1994
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 105 kt (121 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 987 mb (29.15 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 309 km (192 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 9.4
- Identifier
- SH241994
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 19, 00:00 | 6.4S 175.6W | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 19, 06:00 | 6.9S 176.0W | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 19, 12:00 | 7.3S 176.5W | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 19, 18:00 | 7.6S 177.0W | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 20, 00:00 | 7.8S 177.7W | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 20, 06:00 | 7.9S 178.5W | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 20, 12:00 | 7.8S 179.5W | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 20, 18:00 | 7.5S 179.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 21, 00:00 | 7.5S 178.1E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 21, 06:00 | 8.2S 177.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 21, 12:00 | 9.4S 175.7E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 21, 18:00 | 10.7S 174.1E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 22, 00:00 | 11.7S 172.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 22, 06:00 | 12.0S 171.7E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 22, 12:00 | 12.4S 171.2E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 22, 18:00 | 13.1S 170.8E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 23, 00:00 | 14.0S 170.6E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 23, 06:00 | 14.3S 170.6E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 23, 12:00 | 14.7S 170.6E | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 23, 18:00 | 15.4S 170.7E | 65 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 24, 00:00 | 16.5S 171.2E | 75 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 24, 06:00 | 17.4S 171.5E | 85 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 24, 12:00 | 18.4S 172.2E | 95 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 24, 18:00 | 19.4S 173.0E | 100 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 25, 00:00 | 20.5S 174.0E | 105 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 25, 06:00 | 21.8S 175.4E | 105 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 25, 12:00 | 23.1S 177.6E | 95 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 25, 18:00 | 23.9S 179.8E | 75 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 26, 00:00 | 24.2S 178.0W | 65 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 26, 06:00 | 24.3S 175.9W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 26, 12:00 | 24.9S 187.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 26, 18:00 | 25.4S 189.5E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 27, 00:00 | 26.0S 194.0E | 35 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 27, 06:00 | 26.0S 197.5E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
Other South Pacific storms of 1994
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.