Tropical Storm Zaka (1996)
Tropical Storm Zaka peaked at 40 kt in the South Pacific between March 9, 1996 and March 11, 1996, with a lowest pressure of 995 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Zaka, 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 9, 1996 to March 11, 1996
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 40 kt (46 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 995 mb (29.38 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 63 km (39 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.1
- Identifier
- SH201996
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 9, 06:00 | 21.0S 166.6E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 12:00 | 21.5S 168.0E | 30 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 18:00 | 21.9S 169.4E | 30 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 00:00 | 22.7S 171.3E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 06:00 | 24.3S 174.3E | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 12:00 | 25.9S 177.6E | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 18:00 | 27.4S 178.7W | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 00:00 | 29.0S 174.6W | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 29.9S 169.7W | 40 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 29.8S 164.0W | 40 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
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 EthelSouth 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.