Cyclone Thelma (1999)
Cyclone Thelma reached Category 4 in the South Pacific between December 1, 1998 and December 15, 1998, with a lowest pressure of 920 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Thelma, 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.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- December 1, 1998 to December 15, 1998
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 135 kt (155 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 920 mb (27.17 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 28.3
- Fastest the center moved
- 8 kt (9 mph)
- Identifier
- SH061999
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 00:00 | 12.0S 138.0E | 15 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 1, 06:00 | 11.8S 137.6E | 15 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 1, 12:00 | 11.6S 137.2E | 15 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 1, 18:00 | 11.4S 136.8E | 15 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 2, 00:00 | 11.2S 136.4E | 15 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 2, 06:00 | 11.1S 136.1E | 15 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 2, 12:00 | 10.9S 135.9E | 15 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 2, 18:00 | 10.7S 135.7E | 15 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 3, 00:00 | 10.4S 135.4E | 15 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 3, 06:00 | 10.3S 135.0E | 15 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 3, 12:00 | 10.2S 134.7E | 15 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 3, 18:00 | 10.2S 134.4E | 15 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 4, 00:00 | 8.8S 133.9E | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 4, 06:00 | 9.1S 133.5E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 4, 12:00 | 9.2S 132.9E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 4, 18:00 | 9.2S 132.5E | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 5, 00:00 | 9.3S 132.1E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 5, 06:00 | 9.4S 131.7E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 5, 12:00 | 9.4S 131.6E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 5, 18:00 | 9.4S 131.5E | 25 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 6, 00:00 | 9.5S 131.4E | 30 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 6, 06:00 | 9.6S 131.3E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 6, 12:00 | 9.6S 131.3E | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 6, 18:00 | 9.7S 131.2E | 55 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 7, 00:00 | 9.8S 131.1E | 60 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 7, 06:00 | 10.0S 131.0E | 90 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 7, 12:00 | 10.4S 130.8E | 100 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 7, 18:00 | 10.8S 130.5E | 115 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 8, 00:00 | 11.2S 130.0E | 125 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 8, 06:00 | 11.5S 129.6E | 120 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 8, 12:00 | 11.6S 129.2E | 135 kt | 920 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 8, 18:00 | 11.7S 128.8E | 135 kt | 920 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 9, 00:00 | 11.9S 128.4E | 130 kt | 920 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 9, 06:00 | 12.3S 127.9E | 130 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 9, 12:00 | 12.5S 127.3E | 130 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 9, 18:00 | 12.9S 126.8E | 130 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 10, 00:00 | 13.1S 126.5E | 130 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 10, 06:00 | 13.4S 126.1E | 125 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 10, 12:00 | 13.9S 125.7E | 125 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 10, 18:00 | 14.5S 125.3E | 120 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 00:00 | 15.2S 125.1E | 115 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 06:00 | 15.8S 125.0E | 90 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 12:00 | 16.4S 124.9E | 65 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 18:00 | 17.0S 124.9E | 45 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 12, 00:00 | 17.5S 124.8E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 12, 06:00 | 17.8S 124.4E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 12, 12:00 | 18.1S 124.2E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 12, 18:00 | 18.4S 124.0E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 13, 00:00 | 18.7S 123.3E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 13, 06:00 | 18.8S 122.6E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 13, 12:00 | 19.0S 121.9E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 13, 18:00 | 19.3S 121.4E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 14, 00:00 | 19.5S 121.0E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 14, 06:00 | 19.7S 120.6E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 14, 12:00 | 19.9S 119.9E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 14, 18:00 | 20.1S 119.7E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 15, 00:00 | 20.3S 119.6E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 15, 06:00 | 21.0S 119.4E | 30 kt | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1999
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1999
- Cyclone CoraSouth Pacific · 1999
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1999
- Cyclone DaniSouth Pacific · 1999
- Tropical Storm OlindaSouth Pacific · 1999
- Tropical Storm PeteSouth Pacific · 1999
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1999
- Tropical Storm EllaSouth Pacific · 1999
- Tropical Storm RonaSouth Pacific · 1999
- Cyclone FrankSouth Pacific · 1999
- Tropical Storm GitaSouth Pacific · 1999
- Tropical Storm HaliSouth Pacific · 1999
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 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.