The 1999 season

Cyclone Frank (1999)

Cyclone Frank reached Category 2 in the South Pacific between February 16, 1999 and February 27, 1999, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Frank, 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 Pacific
Dates
February 16, 1999 to February 27, 1999
Peak strength
Category 2, 95 kt (109 mph)
Lowest pressure
955 mb (28.20 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
9.9
Fastest the center moved
67 kt (77 mph)
Identifier
SH221999

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Feb 16, 18:0021.4S 152.4E20 ktTropical storm
Feb 17, 00:0021.4S 153.7E30 ktTropical storm
Feb 17, 06:0021.6S 155.4E30 ktTropical storm
Feb 17, 12:0021.2S 156.6E35 ktTropical storm
Feb 17, 18:0020.8S 157.3E35 ktTropical storm
Feb 18, 00:0020.7S 158.0E35 ktTropical storm
Feb 18, 06:0020.4S 159.1E35 ktTropical storm
Feb 18, 12:0020.0S 159.9E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Feb 18, 18:0019.9S 160.6E45 kt995 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 00:0019.9S 161.4E55 kt987 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 06:0020.2S 162.6E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 12:0020.2S 163.4E65 kt970 mbTropical storm
Feb 19, 18:0020.3S 164.4E70 kt965 mbTropical storm
Feb 20, 00:0020.8S 165.2E95 kt955 mbTropical storm
Feb 20, 06:0021.7S 165.7E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Feb 20, 12:0022.6S 166.2E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Feb 20, 18:0023.6S 165.4E90 kt975 mbTropical storm
Feb 21, 00:0024.4S 164.9E80 kt985 mbTropical storm
Feb 21, 06:0025.2S 164.5E75 kt987 mbTropical storm
Feb 21, 12:0025.6S 164.3E70 kt987 mbTropical storm
Feb 21, 18:0026.5S 163.1E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Feb 22, 00:0026.8S 162.2E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Feb 22, 06:0026.8S 161.7E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Feb 22, 12:0027.1S 161.5E55 kt988 mbTropical storm
Feb 22, 18:0027.4S 161.5E50 kt987 mbTropical storm
Feb 23, 00:0027.8S 161.9E45 kt987 mbNot reported
Feb 23, 06:0029.4S 163.0E40 kt986 mbNot reported
Feb 23, 12:0031.3S 163.3E30 kt986 mbNot reported
Feb 23, 18:0032.8S 162.7E30 kt985 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 00:0033.7S 162.4E25 kt985 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 06:0034.7S 162.5E25 kt988 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 12:0035.4S 162.7E25 kt988 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 18:0036.3S 162.9E25 kt992 mbNot reported
Feb 25, 00:0037.1S 163.1E25 kt994 mbNot reported
Feb 25, 06:0037.6S 163.3E25 kt992 mbNot reported
Feb 25, 12:0037.9S 163.3E25 kt992 mbNot reported
Feb 25, 18:0038.2S 163.4E25 kt992 mbNot reported
Feb 26, 00:0038.8S 164.0E25 kt990 mbNot reported
Feb 26, 06:0039.5S 166.3E25 kt990 mbNot reported
Feb 26, 12:0040.4S 167.5E40 kt990 mbNot reported
Feb 26, 18:0041.5S 171.0E40 kt990 mbNot reported
Feb 27, 00:0045.0S 178.0E45 kt984 mbNot reported

Other South Pacific 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.