The 2012 season

Cyclone Lua (2012)

Cyclone Lua reached Category 2 in the South Indian between March 10, 2012 and March 18, 2012, with a lowest pressure of 952 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Lua, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2012 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 10, 2012 to March 18, 2012
Peak strength
Category 2, 95 kt (109 mph)
Lowest pressure
952 mb (28.11 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
8.2
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
180 nmi (333 km, 207 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
15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)
Overall size
240 nmi (444 km, 276 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
33 kt (38 mph)
Identifier
SH172012

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Mar 10, 00:0016.5S 112.0E20 kt999 mbTropical storm
Mar 10, 06:0017.5S 113.0E20 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Mar 10, 12:0018.5S 114.0E20 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Mar 10, 18:0018.4S 114.2E20 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Mar 11, 00:0018.3S 114.3E25 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Mar 11, 06:0019.0S 113.4E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Mar 11, 12:0018.9S 114.1E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Mar 11, 18:0018.8S 114.7E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 12, 00:0018.4S 115.0E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 12, 06:0018.4S 115.2E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Mar 12, 12:0018.6S 115.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Mar 12, 18:0018.6S 115.1E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Mar 13, 00:0018.6S 115.0E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Mar 13, 06:0018.6S 114.6E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Mar 13, 12:0018.2S 113.9E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Mar 13, 18:0017.4S 113.3E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Mar 14, 00:0016.8S 112.7E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Mar 14, 06:0016.1S 112.6E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Mar 14, 12:0015.7S 112.8E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Mar 14, 18:0015.5S 112.9E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Mar 15, 00:0015.5S 113.1E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Mar 15, 06:0015.5S 113.0E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Mar 15, 12:0015.3S 113.6E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Mar 15, 18:0015.6S 114.6E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Mar 16, 00:0016.1S 115.9E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Mar 16, 06:0016.4S 116.7E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Mar 16, 12:0016.8S 117.8E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Mar 16, 18:0017.7S 118.9E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Mar 17, 00:0018.6S 119.7E95 kt952 mbTyphoon
Mar 17, 06:0019.8S 120.0E95 kt952 mbTyphoon
Mar 17, 12:0021.5S 120.4E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Mar 17, 18:0023.4S 121.0E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Mar 18, 00:0024.3S 120.4E30 kt989 mbTropical storm
Mar 18, 06:0027.1S 120.4E25 kt995 mbTropical storm

Other South Indian storms of 2012

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.