Hurricane (Typhoon), Swains
- When
- January 1, 4:00 PM SST to January 5, 10:00 AM SST
- Where
- Swains forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Hurricane in American Samoa, January 1 to 5, 1998
Swains was critically stormed by Hurricane Ron on January 2, 1998. The Territorial Emergency Management Coordinating Office reported that all of the 49 residents of Swains Island were fine except for a few minor injuries.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS ASO wrote it up.
Swains was critically stormed by Hurricane Ron on January 2, 1998. The Territorial Emergency Management Coordinating Office reported that all of the 49 residents of Swains Island were fine except for a few minor injuries. Most of the residential homes were destroyed, except for concrete buildings that withstood the strong winds. All of the residents took sheltered in one of the concrete buildings. One of the residents, a professional fishermen, estimated the sustained winds to be around 80-90 mph with higher gusts. The highest peak gust recorded at WSO-Tafuna was 37 mph on January 3, 1998, with a rainfall amount of 2.51 from January 2-5, 1998. No injuries or damages reported from the other Samoan islands.
Event by event
4 hurricane (typhoon). Local standard time, as filed.
Hurricane (Typhoon), Tutuila
- When
- January 1, 4:00 PM SST to January 5, 10:00 AM SST
- Where
- Tutuila forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Hurricane (Typhoon), Manu'A
- When
- January 1, 4:00 PM SST to January 5, 10:00 AM SST
- Where
- Manu'A forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Hurricane (Typhoon), Rose
- When
- January 1, 4:00 PM SST to January 5, 10:00 AM SST
- Where
- Rose forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
What these are
- Hurricane (Typhoon)
- A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or more, filed per forecast zone for its wind, and with separate events for its flooding, surge and tornadoes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in Oregon, January 1, 1998
- Flood in Florida, January 1 to 25, 1998
- Wildfire and Rip Current in Guam, January 1 to 31, 1998
- Flood in Florida, January 1 to 26, 1998
- Flood in Florida, January 1, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, January 1, 1998
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 1 to 3, 1998
- Flooding in Georgia, January 1 to 31, 1998
- Flooding in South Carolina, January 1 to 31, 1998
- Drought in Hawaii, January 1 to 31, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 1 to 2, 1998
- Cold in Alaska, January 1, 1998
More
Every storm in American Samoa in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in American Samoa, January 1998The 1998 hurricane season
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5667040, 5667041, 5667042, 5667043.