Cyclone Isaac path, 1982

What the record says

Isaac was a cyclone in the South Pacific and Australian region basin that lasted about 6 days, from 27 February 1982 to 5 March 1982. Its peak was Category 3 (108 kt) on 3 March 1982, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 108 kt (124 mph, 200 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 930 hPa.

• Category 3peak intensity
• 108 ktpeak wind (124 mph)
• 930 hPalowest pressure
• 6 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: RSMC Wellington (MetService New Zealand), converted from a 10-minute wind to a 1-minute equivalent. The regional forecast centre (RSMC Wellington (MetService New Zealand)) gave a peak of 95 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

It has its own page because it reached category 3 or stronger.

This page gives the official record's figures. It does not describe the human cost of the storm, which is far larger than any wind speed or pressure here.

Where it came ashore

The record shows no landfall: the storm stayed at sea.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

• Tonga
• American Samoa

US counties it came within 50 km of

• Manu'a District, American Samoa

How to read this track

The line joins the storm's six-hourly positions with straight lines, coloured by its intensity at each point, so it shows how the storm strengthened and weakened. The real path curved between the positions. A dashed grey stretch means the storm had become post-tropical. Records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are estimates.

Source: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS, public domain. See data sources and caveats.