The 1999 season

Cyclone Alda (1999)

Cyclone Alda reached Category 1 in the South Indian between January 14, 1999 and January 19, 1999, with a lowest pressure of 975 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Alda, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1999 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 Indian
Dates
January 14, 1999 to January 19, 1999
Peak strength
Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
Lowest pressure
975 mb (28.79 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 114 km (71 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
2.4
Identifier
SH121999

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jan 14, 12:0020.2S 36.1E15 kt1002 mbMixed
Jan 14, 18:0020.4S 36.4E15 kt1002 mbMixed
Jan 15, 00:0020.3S 36.2E15 kt1002 mbMixed
Jan 15, 06:0020.2S 36.2E20 kt1000 mbMixed
Jan 15, 12:0020.4S 39.0E20 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jan 15, 18:0020.4S 39.7E25 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 00:0020.7S 40.3E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 06:0021.3S 40.5E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 12:0022.0S 40.5E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jan 16, 18:0022.7S 40.3E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 00:0023.2S 39.7E35 kt988 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 06:0023.7S 39.2E35 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 12:0024.4S 38.8E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 17, 18:0025.3S 38.8E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 00:0026.3S 38.9E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 06:0027.4S 39.2E65 kt978 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 12:0028.5S 39.8E55 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jan 18, 18:0029.6S 41.0E55 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 00:0030.8S 43.6E55 kt978 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 06:0032.2S 46.0E45 kt985 mbExtratropical

Other South Indian storms of 1999

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.