Cyclone Harold path, 2020

What the record says

Harold was a cyclone in the South Pacific and Australian region basin that lasted about 10 days, from 1 April 2020 to 11 April 2020. Its peak was Category 5 (145 kt) on 6 April 2020, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 145 kt (167 mph, 269 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 920 hPa.

• Category 5peak intensity
• 145 ktpeak wind (167 mph)
• 920 hPalowest pressure
• 10 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 125 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.

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

• 6 April 2020: Vanuatu (120 kt)

A landfall here is the first tropical position over land after time at sea, so it is within about six hours of the real event. The record shows up to 8.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

• Vanuatu
• Fiji
• Solomon Islands

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.