The 2011 season

Cyclone Wilma (2011)

Cyclone Wilma reached Category 4 in the South Pacific between January 20, 2011 and January 30, 2011, with a lowest pressure of 937 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Wilma, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2011 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

Open the live map with storms, cones and warnings

The storm

Basin
South Pacific
Dates
January 20, 2011 to January 30, 2011
Peak strength
Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
Lowest pressure
937 mb (27.67 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 49 km (30 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
16.9
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
120 nmi (222 km, 138 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
40 nmi (74 km, 46 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
20 nmi (37 km, 23 mi)
Overall size
180 nmi (333 km, 207 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
50 kt (58 mph)
Identifier
SH082011

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jan 20, 00:0013.1S 181.8E20 kt1005 mbNot reported
Jan 20, 06:0012.9S 177.9W20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Jan 20, 12:0013.2S 177.1W20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Jan 20, 18:0013.7S 176.7W20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Jan 21, 00:0014.0S 176.3W25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Jan 21, 06:0014.1S 175.7W30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jan 21, 12:0014.0S 175.0W30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jan 21, 18:0014.0S 174.2W30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jan 22, 00:0013.7S 173.4W35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 06:0012.8S 172.9W40 kt993 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 12:0012.0S 172.3W50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 18:0011.7S 171.2W50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 00:0012.0S 171.3W45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 06:0012.5S 171.0W45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 12:0013.2S 171.0W50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 18:0014.0S 170.9W50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jan 24, 00:0014.9S 170.9W60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Jan 24, 06:0015.9S 171.0W60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Jan 24, 12:0017.1S 171.8W65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Jan 24, 18:0019.0S 173.2W70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Jan 25, 00:0020.4S 175.2W75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Jan 25, 06:0021.6S 177.4W90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Jan 25, 12:0022.4S 179.9W90 kt959 mbTyphoon
Jan 25, 18:0022.6S 178.4E95 kt952 mbTyphoon
Jan 26, 00:0023.0S 176.9E110 kt941 mbTyphoon
Jan 26, 06:0023.4S 175.8E115 kt937 mbTyphoon
Jan 26, 12:0023.8S 175.1E115 kt937 mbTyphoon
Jan 26, 18:0024.5S 174.2E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
Jan 27, 00:0025.3S 173.3E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
Jan 27, 06:0026.2S 172.5E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Jan 27, 12:0027.1S 171.6E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Jan 27, 18:0028.2S 171.5E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Jan 28, 00:0030.0S 171.7E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Jan 28, 06:0031.6S 172.7E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Jan 28, 12:0034.2S 174.5E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Jan 28, 18:0036.8S 178.1E45 kt989 mbExtratropical
Jan 29, 00:0040.4S 181.0E50 kt984 mbNot reported
Jan 29, 06:0044.0S 183.7E50 kt972 mbNot reported
Jan 29, 12:0046.9S 186.6E50 kt968 mbNot reported
Jan 29, 18:0049.0S 190.0E50 kt961 mbNot reported
Jan 30, 00:0050.9S 194.2E50 kt961 mbNot reported
Jan 30, 06:0052.7S 198.8E50 kt960 mbNot reported
Jan 30, 12:0055.0S 202.0E50 kt959 mbNot reported
Jan 30, 18:0057.0S 204.0E50 kt956 mbNot reported

Other South Pacific storms of 2011

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.