Cyclone Sarai (2020)

Cyclone Sarai reached Category 1 in the South Pacific between December 24, 2019 and January 2, 2020, with a lowest pressure of 971 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Sarai, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2020 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 Pacific
Dates: December 24, 2019 to January 2, 2020
Peak strength: Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
Lowest pressure: 971 mb (28.67 inHg)
Landfall: No; closest approach 134 km (83 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy: 7.8
Identifier: SH042020

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)	Position	Wind	Pressure	Status
Dec 24, 18:00	7.8S 175.0E	20 kt	1007 mb	Disturbance
Dec 25, 00:00	8.0S 175.4E	20 kt	1005 mb	Disturbance
Dec 25, 06:00	8.7S 175.6E	20 kt	1005 mb	Disturbance
Dec 25, 12:00	9.8S 175.8E	25 kt	1003 mb	Tropical depression
Dec 25, 18:00	10.9S 175.7E	25 kt	1002 mb	Tropical depression
Dec 26, 00:00	12.0S 175.5E	30 kt	1001 mb	Tropical depression
Dec 26, 06:00	13.2S 175.6E	35 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 26, 12:00	14.5S 175.6E	45 kt	996 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 26, 18:00	15.6S 175.4E	50 kt	991 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 27, 00:00	16.8S 175.4E	55 kt	988 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 27, 06:00	17.9S 175.5E	60 kt	983 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 27, 12:00	18.7S 176.0E	65 kt	982 mb	Typhoon
Dec 27, 18:00	19.3S 176.5E	65 kt	980 mb	Typhoon
Dec 28, 00:00	19.9S 177.2E	70 kt	976 mb	Typhoon
Dec 28, 06:00	20.1S 177.5E	70 kt	975 mb	Typhoon
Dec 28, 12:00	20.1S 177.9E	75 kt	972 mb	Typhoon
Dec 28, 18:00	20.1S 178.3E	75 kt	971 mb	Typhoon
Dec 29, 00:00	20.3S 179.0E	70 kt	975 mb	Typhoon
Dec 29, 06:00	20.5S 179.7E	65 kt	978 mb	Typhoon
Dec 29, 12:00	20.5S 179.6W	65 kt	980 mb	Typhoon
Dec 29, 18:00	20.6S 179.0W	60 kt	982 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 30, 00:00	20.7S 178.6W	60 kt	981 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 30, 06:00	21.1S 177.6W	55 kt	983 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 30, 12:00	21.2S 176.8W	50 kt	988 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 30, 18:00	21.2S 176.0W	50 kt	988 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 31, 00:00	20.9S 175.2W	45 kt	991 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 31, 06:00	20.5S 173.8W	40 kt	996 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 31, 12:00	20.4S 172.5W	35 kt	997 mb	Tropical storm
Dec 31, 18:00	20.3S 171.2W	35 kt	998 mb	Tropical storm
Jan 1, 00:00	20.4S 168.9W	35 kt	997 mb	Tropical storm
Jan 1, 06:00	20.6S 166.6W	40 kt	995 mb	Subtropical storm
Jan 1, 12:00	21.0S 164.4W	50 kt	991 mb	Subtropical storm
Jan 1, 18:00	22.1S 161.8W	55 kt	988 mb	Subtropical storm
Jan 2, 00:00	23.3S 159.1W	55 kt	984 mb	Subtropical storm
Jan 2, 06:00	24.9S 156.6W	50 kt	988 mb	Subtropical storm
Jan 2, 12:00	27.4S 153.5W	45 kt	988 mb	Extratropical

Other South Pacific storms of 2020

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.