The 2006 season

Cyclone Vaianu (2006)

Cyclone Vaianu reached Category 1 in the South Pacific between February 9, 2006 and February 22, 2006, with a lowest pressure of 967 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Vaianu, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2006 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 9, 2006 to February 22, 2006
Peak strength
Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
Lowest pressure
967 mb (28.56 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 148 km (92 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
6.6
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
200 nmi (370 km, 230 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
25 nmi (46 km, 29 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)
Overall size
240 nmi (444 km, 276 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
25 kt (29 mph)
Identifier
SH112006

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Feb 9, 06:0015.0S 179.5W25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Feb 9, 12:0014.8S 178.5W25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Feb 9, 18:0014.5S 177.6W25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Feb 10, 00:0014.3S 177.0W25 kt1000 mbNot reported
Feb 10, 06:0014.2S 176.4W25 kt999 mbNot reported
Feb 10, 12:0015.0S 176.0W25 kt999 mbNot reported
Feb 10, 18:0014.9S 174.8W25 kt1002 mbTropical depression
Feb 11, 00:0015.6S 174.3W30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Feb 11, 06:0016.5S 174.2W30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Feb 11, 12:0017.2S 174.9W35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Feb 11, 18:0017.7S 175.5W40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 00:0018.0S 175.9W45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 06:0018.2S 176.4W50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 12:0018.7S 176.6W60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Feb 12, 18:0019.4S 176.7W65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Feb 13, 00:0020.1S 176.7W65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Feb 13, 06:0020.9S 176.9W70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Feb 13, 12:0021.6S 176.8W75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Feb 13, 18:0022.2S 176.5W75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Feb 14, 00:0022.8S 176.2W75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Feb 14, 06:0023.3S 175.8W70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Feb 14, 12:0023.9S 174.9W70 kt972 mbTyphoon
Feb 14, 18:0024.4S 174.0W65 kt976 mbTyphoon
Feb 15, 00:0025.3S 173.0W55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 06:0025.7S 171.9W45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 12:0026.1S 170.8W45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 15, 18:0026.6S 169.6W45 kt991 mbTropical storm
Feb 16, 00:0027.4S 168.5W40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Feb 16, 06:0028.0S 167.5W35 kt997 mbExtratropical
Feb 16, 12:0028.5S 166.7W35 kt997 mbExtratropical
Feb 16, 18:0028.9S 166.1W35 kt997 mbExtratropical
Feb 17, 00:0029.8S 165.6W30 kt1000 mbExtratropical
Feb 17, 06:0030.7S 165.5W30 kt1000 mbExtratropical
Feb 17, 12:0031.5S 165.3W30 kt1000 mbExtratropical
Feb 17, 18:0032.2S 165.0W25 kt1002 mbExtratropical
Feb 18, 00:0033.0S 165.0WNot reported
Feb 18, 06:0033.5S 164.3WNot reported
Feb 18, 12:0033.8S 163.8WNot reported
Feb 18, 18:0033.6S 163.2WNot reported
Feb 19, 00:0033.3S 162.5WNot reported
Feb 19, 06:0033.6S 161.4WNot reported
Feb 19, 12:0034.1S 160.1WNot reported
Feb 19, 18:0034.7S 159.2WNot reported
Feb 20, 00:0035.6S 159.1WNot reported
Feb 20, 06:0035.8S 159.4WNot reported
Feb 20, 12:0036.4S 159.5WNot reported
Feb 20, 18:0037.2S 159.2WNot reported
Feb 21, 00:0037.6S 159.2WNot reported
Feb 21, 06:0038.1S 159.3WNot reported
Feb 21, 12:0038.4S 158.7WNot reported
Feb 21, 18:0038.4S 157.1WNot reported
Feb 22, 00:0040.1S 155.4WNot reported
Feb 22, 06:0041.8S 153.0WNot reported

Other South Pacific storms of 2006

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.