Tropical Storm Ethel (1996)
Tropical Storm Ethel peaked at 45 kt in the South Pacific between March 7, 1996 and March 17, 1996, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Ethel, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1996 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 7, 1996 to March 17, 1996
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 45 kt (52 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.8
- Identifier
- SH191996
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 7, 06:00 | 15.6S 137.5E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 7, 12:00 | 15.4S 138.0E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 7, 18:00 | 15.3S 138.4E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 8, 00:00 | 15.4S 138.8E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 8, 06:00 | 15.2S 139.2E | 25 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 8, 12:00 | 14.9S 139.7E | 30 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 8, 18:00 | 14.3S 140.1E | 35 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 00:00 | 13.6S 140.2E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 06:00 | 13.1S 140.6E | 40 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 12:00 | 12.8S 141.3E | 40 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 18:00 | 12.6S 141.9E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 00:00 | 12.5S 142.6E | 45 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 06:00 | 12.6S 143.7E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 12:00 | 12.8S 144.6E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 18:00 | 13.0S 145.1E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 00:00 | 13.2S 145.5E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 13.8S 145.9E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 14.2S 146.0E | 45 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 18:00 | 14.6S 145.7E | 45 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 00:00 | 14.7S 143.7E | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 06:00 | 14.7S 142.6E | 45 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 12:00 | 14.6S 141.2E | 45 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 18:00 | 15.1S 139.5E | 45 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 00:00 | 15.9S 137.9E | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 06:00 | 16.8S 136.0E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 12:00 | 17.8S 134.3E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 13, 18:00 | 19.2S 133.5E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 14, 00:00 | 20.6S 133.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 14, 06:00 | 22.2S 133.8E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 14, 12:00 | 23.4S 135.3E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 14, 18:00 | 24.1S 137.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 15, 00:00 | 24.5S 138.6E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 15, 06:00 | 24.9S 140.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 15, 12:00 | 24.9S 142.3E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 15, 18:00 | 24.6S 144.3E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 16, 00:00 | 23.9S 146.1E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 16, 06:00 | 23.2S 147.4E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 16, 12:00 | 22.3S 148.6E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 16, 18:00 | 21.1S 150.2E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 17, 00:00 | 19.8S 152.0E | 15 kt | Tropical storm |
Other South Pacific storms of 1996
- Tropical Storm YasiSouth Pacific · 1996
- Cyclone CelesteSouth Pacific · 1996
- Cyclone JacobSouth Pacific · 1996
- Tropical Storm DennisSouth Pacific · 1996
- Tropical Storm AtuSouth Pacific · 1996
- Tropical Storm ZakaSouth Pacific · 1996
- Tropical Depression ZakaSouth Pacific · 1996
- Cyclone BetiSouth Pacific · 1996
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.