Cyclone Waka (2002)
Cyclone Waka reached Category 3 in the South Pacific between December 28, 2001 and January 6, 2002, with a lowest pressure of 944 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Cyclone Waka. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- December 28, 2001 to January 6, 2002
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 944 mb (27.88 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 288 km (179 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 12.5
- 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
- 315 nmi (583 km, 362 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Fastest the center moved
- 58 kt (67 mph)
- Identifier
- SH072002
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 28, 12:00 | 10.4S 175.1W | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Dec 28, 18:00 | 10.4S 174.7W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Dec 29, 00:00 | 10.8S 174.5W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Dec 29, 06:00 | 11.5S 174.8W | 35 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 12:00 | 12.0S 175.0W | 35 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 29, 18:00 | 12.5S 175.4W | 55 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 30, 00:00 | 13.0S 175.8W | 65 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Dec 30, 06:00 | 13.7S 175.9W | 70 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Dec 30, 12:00 | 14.3S 175.8W | 90 kt | 954 mb | Hurricane |
| Dec 30, 18:00 | 15.3S 175.6W | 90 kt | 954 mb | Hurricane |
| Dec 31, 00:00 | 16.3S 175.3W | 100 kt | 944 mb | Hurricane |
| Dec 31, 06:00 | 17.4S 174.6W | 100 kt | 944 mb | Hurricane |
| Dec 31, 12:00 | 18.8S 173.9W | 100 kt | 944 mb | Hurricane |
| Dec 31, 18:00 | 20.3S 172.8W | 100 kt | 962 mb | Hurricane |
| Jan 1, 00:00 | 22.0S 171.6W | 90 kt | 970 mb | Hurricane |
| Jan 1, 06:00 | 23.7S 170.4W | 75 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Jan 1, 12:00 | 25.6S 169.2W | 65 kt | 987 mb | Hurricane |
| Jan 1, 18:00 | 28.0S 167.9W | 55 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 2, 00:00 | 29.3S 167.6W | 45 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 2, 06:00 | 30.5S 167.4W | 55 kt | 984 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 2, 12:00 | 30.8S 167.1W | 55 kt | 984 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 2, 18:00 | 31.3S 166.9W | 55 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 3, 00:00 | 31.5S 166.7W | 50 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 3, 06:00 | 32.0S 166.1W | 60 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 3, 12:00 | 32.4S 165.7W | 55 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 3, 18:00 | 32.9S 165.5W | 55 kt | 989 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 4, 00:00 | 33.9S 165.3W | 50 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 4, 06:00 | 35.0S 164.7W | 45 kt | 985 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 4, 12:00 | 36.5S 164.3W | 45 kt | 985 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 4, 18:00 | 38.1S 163.8W | 35 kt | 984 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 5, 00:00 | 40.4S 162.5W | 35 kt | 986 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 5, 06:00 | 43.1S 161.2W | 35 kt | 989 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 5, 12:00 | 47.4S 158.1W | 30 kt | 978 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 5, 18:00 | 51.4S 157.0W | 30 kt | 976 mb | Not reported |
| Jan 6, 00:00 | 56.8S 155.3W | 30 kt | 972 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 2002
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 2002
- Tropical Storm TrinaSouth Pacific · 2002
- Tropical Depression VickySouth Pacific · 2002
- Tropical Storm BernieSouth Pacific · 2002
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 2002
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 2002
- Cyclone ClaudiaSouth Pacific · 2002
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 2002
- Tropical Storm DesSouth Pacific · 2002
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 2002
- Tropical Storm UpiaSouth Pacific · 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.