Cyclone Winston path, 2016

What the record says

Winston was a cyclone in the South Pacific and Australian region basin that lasted about 19 days, from 9 February 2016 to 28 February 2016. Its peak was Category 5 (155 kt) on 20 February 2016, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 155 kt (178 mph, 287 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 884 hPa.

• Category 5peak intensity
• 155 ktpeak wind (178 mph)
• 884 hPalowest pressure
• 19 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (southern hemisphere). The regional forecast centre (RSMC Nadi (Fiji Meteorological Service)) gave a peak of 150 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

It has its own page because it reached category 5 or stronger and it is a well-known storm.

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.

• Fiji
• New Caledonia
• Tonga

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.