The 2003 season

Cyclone Japhet (2003)

Cyclone Japhet reached Category 4 in the South Indian between February 24, 2003 and March 5, 2003, with a lowest pressure of 927 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Japhet, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2003 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 Indian
Dates
February 24, 2003 to March 5, 2003
Peak strength
Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
Lowest pressure
927 mb (27.37 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
15.2
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
20 nmi (37 km, 23 mi)
Overall size
160 nmi (296 km, 184 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
11 kt (13 mph)
Identifier
SH192003

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Feb 24, 12:0021.4S 42.3E20 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Feb 24, 18:0021.2S 42.6E20 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Feb 25, 00:0021.4S 42.9E20 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Feb 25, 06:0021.7S 42.8E25 kt1002 mbTropical depression
Feb 25, 12:0022.1S 42.7E25 kt1002 mbTropical depression
Feb 25, 18:0022.4S 42.4E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Feb 26, 00:0022.3S 41.5E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Feb 26, 06:0021.9S 40.4E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Feb 26, 12:0021.6S 39.8E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Feb 26, 18:0021.5S 39.5E45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 00:0021.4S 39.2E45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 06:0021.6S 38.9E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 27, 12:0021.9S 38.7E65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Feb 27, 18:0022.2S 38.4E70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 00:0022.5S 38.0E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 06:0022.9S 37.8E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 12:0023.2S 37.6E85 kt958 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 18:0023.7S 37.4E100 kt944 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 00:0023.9S 37.6E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 06:0023.8S 37.7E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 12:0023.6S 37.6E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 18:0023.3S 37.3E115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Mar 2, 00:0023.0S 36.9E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
Mar 2, 06:0022.6S 36.4E95 kt949 mbTyphoon
Mar 2, 12:0022.1S 35.7E90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Mar 2, 18:0021.7S 35.1E85 kt958 mbTyphoon
Mar 3, 00:0021.3S 34.7E65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Mar 3, 06:0020.9S 34.2E65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Mar 3, 12:0020.8S 33.4E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Mar 3, 18:0020.3S 32.9E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Mar 4, 00:0019.8S 32.5E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Mar 4, 06:0019.8S 31.4ENot reported
Mar 4, 12:0019.9S 30.9ENot reported
Mar 4, 18:0020.0S 30.5ENot reported
Mar 5, 00:0020.2S 30.0EDisturbance
Mar 5, 06:0020.4S 29.4EDisturbance

Other South Indian storms of 2003

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.