The 2001 season

Cyclone Paula (2001)

Cyclone Paula reached Category 3 in the South Pacific between February 25, 2001 and March 8, 2001, with a lowest pressure of 930 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Paula, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2001 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 25, 2001 to March 8, 2001
Peak strength
Category 3, 105 kt (121 mph)
Lowest pressure
930 mb (27.46 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
18.5
Fastest the center moved
25 kt (29 mph)
Identifier
SH132001

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Feb 25, 06:0010.5S 162.8E20 ktTropical depression
Feb 25, 12:0010.7S 163.1E20 ktTropical depression
Feb 25, 18:0011.1S 163.5E25 kt998 mbTropical depression
Feb 26, 00:0011.6S 163.9E30 kt998 mbTropical depression
Feb 26, 06:0012.1S 164.2E30 kt997 mbTropical depression
Feb 26, 12:0012.5S 164.4E35 kt995 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 18:0013.0S 164.5E45 kt987 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 00:0013.4S 164.7E50 kt980 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 06:0013.8S 164.9E55 kt975 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 12:0014.4S 165.4E65 kt970 mbTyphoon
Feb 27, 18:0015.3S 166.1E70 kt960 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 00:0016.1S 166.8E75 kt955 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 06:0016.7S 167.9E85 kt950 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 12:0017.4S 169.0E85 kt945 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 18:0018.1S 170.3E90 kt945 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 00:0018.7S 171.8E90 kt945 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 06:0019.3S 173.5E95 kt940 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 12:0019.8S 175.4E95 kt940 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 18:0020.5S 177.3E100 kt935 mbTyphoon
Mar 2, 00:0021.2S 179.1E100 kt930 mbTyphoon
Mar 2, 06:0022.0S 179.1W105 kt930 mbHR
Mar 2, 12:0022.9S 177.8W105 kt940 mbHR
Mar 2, 18:0023.8S 176.6W100 kt950 mbHR
Mar 3, 00:0024.7S 175.5W80 kt960 mbHR
Mar 3, 06:0025.3S 174.7W75 kt970 mbHR
Mar 3, 12:0025.9S 174.0W65 kt975 mbHR
Mar 3, 18:0026.7S 173.2W55 kt975 mbTropical storm
Mar 4, 00:0027.8S 172.2W55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Mar 4, 06:0028.7S 171.4W45 kt984 mbTropical storm
Mar 4, 12:0029.8S 170.4W45 kt988 mbTropical storm
Mar 4, 18:0031.0S 169.2W35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Mar 5, 00:0032.9S 192.2E40 kt991 mbNot reported
Mar 5, 06:0034.8S 194.1E40 kt984 mbNot reported
Mar 5, 12:0036.2S 196.0E45 kt979 mbNot reported
Mar 5, 18:0037.2S 197.0E50 kt976 mbNot reported
Mar 6, 00:0037.9S 198.1E55 kt968 mbNot reported
Mar 6, 06:0038.5S 199.0E60 kt966 mbNot reported
Mar 6, 12:0039.2S 200.5E60 kt968 mbNot reported
Mar 6, 18:0040.0S 202.5E60 kt972 mbNot reported
Mar 7, 00:0040.5S 204.0E50 kt968 mbNot reported
Mar 7, 06:0040.5S 206.0E50 kt980 mbNot reported
Mar 7, 12:0040.0S 208.0E50 kt982 mbNot reported
Mar 7, 18:0040.0S 210.0E45 kt986 mbNot reported
Mar 8, 00:0040.0S 212.0E40 kt988 mbNot reported
Mar 8, 06:0040.0S 213.0E30 kt1006 mbNot reported
Mar 8, 12:0040.0S 214.0E30 kt1006 mbNot reported
Mar 8, 18:0040.0S 215.0E30 kt1004 mbNot reported

Other South Pacific storms of 2001

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.