Hurricane History Map

1986 South Pacific and Australian region season

12 storms formed in the South Pacific and Australian region basin in 1986, from 11 December 1985 to 23 May 1986.

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Years1986
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 1986 season in numbers

The record holds 12 storms for the 1986 South Pacific and Australian region season, of which 10 had names.10 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 5 reached cyclone strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 12storms
  • 10tropical storm strength or more
  • 5cyclone strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 52accumulated 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 1986

  • Winifred (1986)27 January 1986 to 5 February 1986, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 961 hPa
  • Namu (1986)15 May 1986 to 23 May 1986, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 955 hPa
  • Ima (1986)5 February 1986 to 16 February 1986, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 940 hPa
  • Martin (1986)9 April 1986 to 15 April 1986, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 970 hPa
  • Manu (1986)21 April 1986 to 27 April 1986, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 970 hPa

All 12 storms of 1986

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Vernon Tropical storm
Winifred Category 2
Ima Category 1
June Tropical storm
Keli Tropical storm
Lusi Tropical storm
Alfred Tropical storm
Martin Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Manu Category 1
Namu Category 1

← 1985 · 1987 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1986

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