Hurricane History Map

1985 South-West Indian season

21 storms formed in the South-West Indian basin in 1985, from 9 November 1984 to 25 April 1985.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Years1985
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1985 season in numbers

The record holds 21 storms for the 1985 South-West Indian season, of which 17 had names.21 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 8 reached cyclone strength (category 1 or more) and 2 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 21storms
  • 21tropical storm strength or more
  • 8cyclone strength or more
  • 2major (category 3 to 5)
  • 126accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1985

  • Kirsty (1985)1 March 1985 to 19 March 1985, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 920 hPa
  • Helisaonina (1985)7 April 1985 to 19 April 1985, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 941 hPa
  • Frank (1985)19 December 1984 to 28 December 1984, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 952 hPa
  • Jacob (1985)15 February 1985 to 28 February 1985, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 950 hPa
  • Ditra (1985)25 January 1985 to 1 February 1985, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 966 hPa

All 21 storms of 1985

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Anety Tropical storm
Bobalahy Tropical storm
Emma Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Frank Category 1
Celestina Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Ditra Category 1
Gertie Tropical storm
Esitera Tropical storm
Hubert Tropical storm
Isobel Tropical storm
Gerimena Category 1
Feliksa Tropical storm
Jacob Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Kirsty Category 4
Lindsay Tropical storm
Helisaonina Category 3
Margot Category 1

← 1984 · 1986 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1985

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.