The 1998 season

Cyclone Susan (1998)

Cyclone Susan reached Category 5 in the South Pacific between December 20, 1997 and January 10, 1998, with a lowest pressure of 900 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Susan, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1998 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
December 20, 1997 to January 10, 1998
Peak strength
Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
Lowest pressure
900 mb (26.58 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 256 km (159 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
34.2
Fastest the center moved
62 kt (71 mph)
Identifier
SH111998

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Dec 20, 12:005.3S 171.3W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 20, 18:006.1S 171.4W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 21, 00:006.9S 171.7W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 21, 06:008.1S 172.1W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 21, 12:009.2S 172.4W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 21, 18:009.8S 172.8W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 22, 00:0010.4S 173.6W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 22, 06:0010.7S 174.3W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 22, 12:0010.9S 174.8W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 22, 18:0011.2S 174.9W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 23, 00:0011.5S 175.0W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 23, 06:0011.8S 175.0W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 23, 12:0012.1S 175.2W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 23, 18:0012.2S 175.4W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 24, 00:0012.2S 175.7W20 ktTropical storm
Dec 24, 06:0012.0S 175.8W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 24, 12:0012.1S 176.1W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 24, 18:0012.2S 176.3W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 25, 00:0012.2S 176.5W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 25, 06:0012.2S 176.7W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 25, 12:0012.2S 176.9W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 25, 18:0012.2S 177.1W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 26, 00:0012.2S 177.6W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 26, 06:0012.2S 177.9W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 26, 12:0012.2S 178.1W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 26, 18:0012.1S 178.4W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 27, 00:0012.0S 178.7W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 27, 06:0011.9S 179.0W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 27, 12:0011.8S 179.4W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 27, 18:0011.8S 180.0W25 ktTropical storm
Dec 28, 00:0011.8S 179.4E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 28, 06:0011.8S 178.9E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 28, 12:0011.9S 178.4E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 28, 18:0012.1S 177.8E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 29, 00:0012.4S 177.2E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 29, 06:0012.7S 176.5E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 29, 12:0013.0S 175.9E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 29, 18:0013.2S 175.4E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 30, 00:0013.5S 175.0E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 30, 06:0013.4S 174.4E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 30, 12:0013.0S 174.1E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 30, 18:0012.6S 173.9E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 31, 00:0012.2S 173.8E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 31, 06:0011.8S 173.9E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 31, 12:0011.6S 174.0E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 31, 18:0011.5S 174.1E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 1, 00:0011.5S 174.2E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 1, 06:0011.5S 174.4E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 1, 12:0011.5S 174.6E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 1, 18:0011.6S 174.8E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 2, 00:0011.8S 175.0E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 2, 06:0012.1S 175.1E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 2, 12:0012.3S 174.7E25 ktTropical storm
Jan 2, 18:0012.4S 174.1E30 ktTropical storm
Jan 3, 00:0012.4S 173.5E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 3, 06:0012.5S 172.8E45 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jan 3, 12:0012.7S 172.3E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 3, 18:0012.9S 171.8E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 4, 00:0013.0S 171.4E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jan 4, 06:0013.1S 171.0E95 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jan 4, 12:0013.4S 170.7E115 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jan 4, 18:0013.8S 170.4E120 kt925 mbTropical storm
Jan 5, 00:0014.1S 170.2E130 kt910 mbTropical storm
Jan 5, 06:0014.4S 170.0E140 kt900 mbTropical storm
Jan 5, 12:0014.8S 169.8E140 kt900 mbTropical storm
Jan 5, 18:0015.2S 169.9E135 kt900 mbTropical storm
Jan 6, 00:0015.6S 170.1E140 kt900 mbTropical storm
Jan 6, 06:0016.0S 170.5E140 kt900 mbTropical storm
Jan 6, 12:0016.6S 171.1E140 kt900 mbTropical storm
Jan 6, 18:0017.2S 171.9E140 kt910 mbTropical storm
Jan 7, 00:0018.0S 172.8E140 kt910 mbTropical storm
Jan 7, 06:0018.9S 173.8E135 kt915 mbTropical storm
Jan 7, 12:0019.9S 174.9E130 kt915 mbTropical storm
Jan 7, 18:0020.9S 176.4E120 kt920 mbTropical storm
Jan 8, 00:0022.0S 178.0E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
Jan 8, 06:0023.2S 179.7E100 kt935 mbTropical storm
Jan 8, 12:0024.7S 178.5W95 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jan 8, 18:0026.6S 176.9W90 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jan 9, 00:0029.0S 175.2W80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jan 9, 06:0031.0S 172.6W75 kt963 mbTropical storm
Jan 9, 12:0033.4S 170.0W70 kt967 mbTropical storm
Jan 9, 18:0036.2S 167.4W60 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jan 10, 00:0043.5S 196.2E50 kt976 mbNot reported
Jan 10, 06:0049.0S 198.0E50 kt972 mbNot reported
Jan 10, 12:0054.0S 203.0E50 kt972 mbNot reported

Other South Pacific storms of 1998

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.