The 2002 season

Typhoon Rusa (2002)

Typhoon Rusa reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between August 22, 2002 and September 3, 2002, with a lowest pressure of 927 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Rusa, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2002 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
Western Pacific
Dates
August 22, 2002 to September 3, 2002
Peak strength
Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
Lowest pressure
927 mb (27.37 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
24.7
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
220 nmi (407 km, 253 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
20 nmi (37 km, 23 mi)
Overall size
225 nmi (417 km, 259 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
44 kt (51 mph)
Identifier
WP212002

Radar at RKSG as it neared land, Aug 31, 18:00 UTC

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Aug 22, 00:0014.2N 164.0E20 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Aug 22, 06:0014.7N 163.5E25 kt1002 mbTropical depression
Aug 22, 12:0015.1N 162.9E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Aug 22, 18:0015.6N 162.1E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Aug 23, 00:0016.2N 161.3E45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 06:0016.8N 160.4E45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 12:0017.6N 159.5E50 kt987 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 18:0018.3N 158.3E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 00:0018.9N 157.1E65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Aug 24, 06:0019.3N 156.0E65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Aug 24, 12:0019.6N 155.1E65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Aug 24, 18:0020.1N 153.9E70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 00:0020.6N 152.4E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 06:0021.0N 150.8E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 12:0021.4N 149.3E85 kt958 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 18:0021.8N 148.0E90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 00:0022.1N 146.8E100 kt944 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 06:0022.5N 145.6E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 12:0022.8N 144.4E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 18:0023.2N 143.2E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 00:0023.5N 142.0E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 06:0023.9N 140.5E105 kt927 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 12:0024.3N 139.2E90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 18:0024.8N 137.9E95 kt949 mbTyphoon
Aug 28, 00:0025.2N 136.5E95 kt949 mbTyphoon
Aug 28, 06:0025.8N 135.1E90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Aug 28, 12:0026.3N 133.8E90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Aug 28, 18:0026.8N 132.7E85 kt958 mbTyphoon
Aug 29, 00:0027.3N 131.5E85 kt958 mbTyphoon
Aug 29, 06:0027.9N 130.3E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 29, 12:0028.4N 129.5E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 29, 18:0028.8N 129.0E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 30, 00:0029.2N 128.4E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 30, 06:0029.9N 128.0E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 30, 12:0030.6N 127.7E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Aug 30, 18:0031.6N 127.5E70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Aug 31, 00:0032.7N 127.5E70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Aug 31, 06:0034.1N 127.4E70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Aug 31, 12:0035.4N 127.4E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Aug 31, 18:0036.7N 127.8E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 00:0038.0N 128.4E45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 06:0038.8N 129.5E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 12:0040.6N 130.8E1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 18:0043.5N 134.2E1000 mbExtratropical
Sep 2, 00:0046.5N 138.7E1002 mbExtratropical
Sep 2, 06:0049.2N 141.2E996 mbExtratropical
Sep 2, 12:0051.2N 144.3E992 mbExtratropical
Sep 2, 18:0052.6N 146.3E990 mbExtratropical
Sep 3, 00:0053.3N 147.5E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 3, 06:0054.3N 150.3E984 mbExtratropical
Sep 3, 12:0055.2N 152.5E984 mbExtratropical
Sep 3, 18:0055.0N 156.0E984 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 2002

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.