Cyclone Ola (2015)
Cyclone Ola reached Category 2 in the South Pacific between January 29, 2015 and February 4, 2015, with a lowest pressure of 959 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Ola, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2015 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- January 29, 2015 to February 4, 2015
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 959 mb (28.32 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 21 km (13 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 5.6
- Identifier
- SH102015
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 29, 18:00 | 16.1S 161.4E | 20 kt | 1007 mb | Disturbance |
| Jan 30, 00:00 | 16.4S 161.4E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jan 30, 06:00 | 16.7S 161.4E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jan 30, 12:00 | 17.0S 161.5E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jan 30, 18:00 | 17.2S 161.5E | 35 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 00:00 | 17.5S 161.6E | 45 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 06:00 | 17.8S 161.7E | 45 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 12:00 | 18.3S 161.9E | 55 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 18:00 | 19.0S 162.1E | 65 kt | 974 mb | Typhoon |
| Feb 1, 00:00 | 19.8S 162.2E | 70 kt | 970 mb | Typhoon |
| Feb 1, 06:00 | 20.5S 162.3E | 75 kt | 967 mb | Typhoon |
| Feb 1, 12:00 | 20.9S 162.4E | 85 kt | 959 mb | Typhoon |
| Feb 1, 18:00 | 21.7S 162.3E | 70 kt | 970 mb | Typhoon |
| Feb 2, 00:00 | 22.6S 161.9E | 60 kt | 978 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 2, 06:00 | 23.2S 162.0E | 60 kt | 978 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 2, 12:00 | 24.2S 162.0E | 60 kt | 978 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 2, 18:00 | 25.6S 162.0E | 55 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 3, 00:00 | 26.7S 162.0E | 50 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 3, 06:00 | 27.9S 162.1E | 45 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 3, 12:00 | 29.2S 162.3E | 35 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 3, 18:00 | 30.5S 164.3E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 4, 00:00 | 31.9S 166.9E | 30 kt | 996 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 4, 06:00 | 33.2S 169.5E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 4, 12:00 | 34.8S 172.7E | 25 kt | 1001 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 2015
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.