The 2009 season

Cyclone Ilsa (2009)

Cyclone Ilsa reached Category 3 in the South Indian between March 15, 2009 and March 26, 2009, with a lowest pressure of 948 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Ilsa, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2009 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
March 15, 2009 to March 26, 2009
Peak strength
Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
Lowest pressure
948 mb (27.99 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 68 km (42 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
12.9
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
120 nmi (222 km, 138 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
50 nmi (93 km, 58 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
10 nmi (19 km, 12 mi)
Overall size
230 nmi (426 km, 265 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
17 kt (20 mph)
Identifier
SH222009

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Mar 15, 00:0010.0S 128.7E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Mar 15, 06:0010.2S 127.9E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Mar 15, 12:0010.4S 126.8E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Mar 15, 18:0010.6S 125.7E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Mar 16, 00:0010.8S 124.6E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Mar 16, 06:0011.2S 123.3E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Mar 16, 12:0012.0S 122.4E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Mar 16, 18:0012.6S 121.5E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Mar 17, 00:0012.9S 119.9E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 17, 06:0013.0S 118.3E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 17, 12:0013.5S 116.6E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Mar 17, 18:0013.3S 114.8E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Mar 18, 00:0013.5S 113.2E40 kt993 mbTropical storm
Mar 18, 06:0013.6S 111.9E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Mar 18, 12:0013.7S 110.7E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Mar 18, 18:0014.6S 109.7E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Mar 19, 00:0015.4S 108.7E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Mar 19, 06:0015.9S 107.6E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
Mar 19, 12:0016.3S 106.8E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
Mar 19, 18:0016.3S 105.9E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
Mar 20, 00:0016.2S 105.1E95 kt952 mbTyphoon
Mar 20, 06:0016.1S 104.4E95 kt952 mbTyphoon
Mar 20, 12:0016.0S 103.8E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Mar 20, 18:0015.9S 103.2E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Mar 21, 00:0016.0S 102.4E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Mar 21, 06:0016.1S 101.6E85 kt959 mbTropical cyclone
Mar 21, 12:0016.1S 100.9E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Mar 21, 18:0016.1S 100.2E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Mar 22, 00:0016.2S 99.5E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Mar 22, 06:0016.4S 98.8E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Mar 22, 12:0016.8S 97.9E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Mar 22, 18:0017.1S 96.8E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Mar 23, 00:0017.3S 95.5E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Mar 23, 06:0017.6S 94.2E40 kt993 mbTropical storm
Mar 23, 12:0018.2S 92.9E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Mar 23, 18:0018.6S 91.5E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Mar 24, 00:0019.2S 90.1E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Mar 24, 06:0019.6S 88.9E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Mar 24, 12:0020.0S 87.7E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Mar 24, 18:0020.3S 86.1E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 25, 00:0021.0S 84.6E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 25, 06:0021.5S 83.3E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 25, 12:0022.2S 82.1E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Mar 25, 18:0023.1S 80.8E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Mar 26, 00:0023.7S 79.8E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Mar 26, 06:0024.2S 78.9E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Mar 26, 12:0024.7S 77.8E15 kt1010 mbDisturbance

Other South Indian storms of 2009

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.