Cyclone Idai (2019)
Cyclone Idai reached Category 4 in the South Indian between March 4, 2019 and March 16, 2019, with a lowest pressure of 947 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Idai, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2019 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 Indian
- Dates
- March 4, 2019 to March 16, 2019
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 947 mb (27.96 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 20.6
- Identifier
- SH182019
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 00:00 | 18.0S 38.0E | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 06:00 | 17.8S 37.9E | 33 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 12:00 | 17.7S 37.3E | 37 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 18:00 | 17.3S 37.3E | 25 kt | 1003 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 5, 00:00 | 17.1S 37.5E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 5, 06:00 | 17.0S 37.4E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 5, 12:00 | 16.8S 37.2E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 5, 18:00 | 16.4S 37.0E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 6, 00:00 | 15.9S 36.9E | 30 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 6, 06:00 | 15.5S 36.8E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 6, 12:00 | 15.1S 36.7E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 6, 18:00 | 14.9S 36.6E | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 7, 00:00 | 15.0S 36.2E | 20 kt | 1008 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 7, 06:00 | 15.0S 35.8E | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 7, 12:00 | 15.1S 35.4E | 20 kt | 1006 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 7, 18:00 | 15.1S 35.0E | 20 kt | 1007 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 8, 00:00 | 15.5S 35.0E | 20 kt | 1007 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 8, 06:00 | 15.7S 35.8E | 20 kt | 1007 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 8, 12:00 | 15.9S 36.9E | 20 kt | 1007 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 8, 18:00 | 16.2S 38.0E | 25 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 9, 00:00 | 16.6S 39.1E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 9, 06:00 | 17.0S 40.2E | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 9, 12:00 | 17.0S 41.3E | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 18:00 | 17.0S 41.9E | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 00:00 | 17.2S 42.4E | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 06:00 | 17.2S 42.6E | 50 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 12:00 | 17.2S 43.0E | 60 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 18:00 | 17.2S 43.2E | 75 kt | 980 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 00:00 | 17.3S 43.1E | 95 kt | 965 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 17.4S 43.0E | 110 kt | 950 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 17.5S 42.8E | 110 kt | 951 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 11, 18:00 | 17.7S 42.4E | 105 kt | 956 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 00:00 | 18.0S 42.1E | 100 kt | 959 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 06:00 | 18.3S 41.7E | 90 kt | 968 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 12:00 | 18.7S 41.3E | 90 kt | 968 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 12, 18:00 | 19.0S 40.8E | 95 kt | 964 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 00:00 | 19.2S 40.1E | 95 kt | 966 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 06:00 | 19.3S 39.5E | 95 kt | 966 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 12:00 | 19.4S 39.0E | 105 kt | 960 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 13, 18:00 | 19.5S 38.5E | 115 kt | 948 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 00:00 | 19.7S 37.9E | 110 kt | 953 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 06:00 | 19.8S 37.2E | 105 kt | 958 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 12:00 | 19.9S 36.4E | 95 kt | 967 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 14, 18:00 | 19.8S 35.6E | 90 kt | 968 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 15, 00:00 | 19.7S 34.8E | 100 kt | 965 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 15, 06:00 | 19.5S 34.1E | 85 kt | 977 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 15, 12:00 | 19.3S 33.4E | 70 kt | 987 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 15, 18:00 | 19.1S 32.9E | 55 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 00:00 | 19.0S 32.1E | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 06:00 | 18.7S 31.5E | 30 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 16, 12:00 | 18.5S 31.4E | Disturbance |
Other South Indian storms of 2019
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone AlcideSouth Indian · 2019
- Tropical Storm BouchraSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone KenangaSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone CilidaSouth Indian · 2019
- Tropical Storm DesmondSouth Indian · 2019
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone RileySouth Indian · 2019
- Tropical Storm EketsangSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone FunaniSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone GelenaSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone HalehSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone SavannahSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone VeronicaSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone JoaninhaSouth Indian · 2019
- Tropical Storm WallaceSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone LornaSouth Indian · 2019
- Cyclone KennethSouth Indian · 2019
- Tropical Storm LiliSouth Indian · 2019
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.