The 2005 season

Cyclone Percy (2005)

Cyclone Percy reached Category 5 in the South Pacific between February 23, 2005 and March 5, 2005, with a lowest pressure of 898 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Percy, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2005 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 23, 2005 to March 5, 2005
Peak strength
Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
Lowest pressure
898 mb (26.52 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 374 km (232 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
34.2
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
130 nmi (241 km, 150 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
30 nmi (56 km, 35 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
10 nmi (19 km, 12 mi)
Overall size
187 nmi (346 km, 215 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track
170 kt (196 mph)
Fastest the center moved
29 kt (33 mph)
Identifier
SH202005

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Feb 23, 00:008.5S 172.8E20 kt1002 mbNot reported
Feb 23, 06:008.2S 173.9E20 kt1002 mbNot reported
Feb 23, 12:007.9S 175.1E20 kt1002 mbNot reported
Feb 23, 18:007.7S 176.3E20 kt1002 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 00:007.6S 177.4E25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 06:007.7S 178.7E30 kt998 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 12:007.9S 179.8E30 kt997 mbNot reported
Feb 24, 18:007.9S 179.5W25 kt1002 mbTropical depression
Feb 25, 00:008.4S 178.5W45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 25, 06:008.7S 177.4W55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 25, 12:008.9S 176.3W70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Feb 25, 18:009.0S 175.0W90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Feb 26, 00:009.4S 173.8W90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Feb 26, 06:009.8S 172.7W90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Feb 26, 12:0010.2S 171.5W90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Feb 26, 18:0010.5S 170.7W95 kt949 mbTyphoon
Feb 27, 00:0010.7S 169.9W110 kt933 mbTyphoon
Feb 27, 06:0010.8S 168.8W115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Feb 27, 12:0010.9S 167.8W115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Feb 27, 18:0011.0S 166.8W115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 00:0011.4S 166.0W105 kt938 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 06:0011.8S 165.4W105 kt938 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 12:0012.1S 165.1W105 kt938 mbTyphoon
Feb 28, 18:0012.5S 165.0W105 kt938 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 00:0013.1S 165.0W110 kt933 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 06:0013.6S 165.0W115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 12:0014.1S 165.0W115 kt927 mbTyphoon
Mar 1, 18:0014.9S 165.0W125 kt916 mbTyphoon
Mar 2, 00:0015.6S 165.2W140 kt898 mbSuper typhoon
Mar 2, 06:0016.4S 165.3W140 kt898 mbSuper typhoon
Mar 2, 12:0017.4S 165.2W140 kt898 mbSuper typhoon
Mar 2, 18:0018.5S 165.1W130 kt910 mbSuper typhoon
Mar 3, 00:0019.6S 164.8W125 kt916 mbTyphoon
Mar 3, 06:0020.5S 164.2W110 kt933 mbTyphoon
Mar 3, 12:0021.5S 163.7W95 kt949 mbTyphoon
Mar 3, 18:0022.6S 163.0W90 kt954 mbTyphoon
Mar 4, 00:0023.4S 161.9W75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Mar 4, 06:0024.0S 160.6W65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Mar 4, 12:0024.5S 158.9W60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Mar 4, 18:0025.0S 156.6W45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Mar 5, 00:0025.6S 153.7W40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Mar 5, 06:0026.6S 209.9E35 kt992 mbNot reported
Mar 5, 12:0026.2S 212.0E40 kt1001 mbNot reported

Other South Pacific storms of 2005

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.