Cyclone Freda (1997)
Cyclone Freda reached Category 1 in the South Pacific between January 20, 1997 and February 5, 1997, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Cyclone Freda. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.























Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- January 20, 1997 to February 5, 1997
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 397 km (247 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 8.8
- Identifier
- SH221997
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 20, 12:00 | 15.9S 172.0E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 20, 18:00 | 16.1S 172.1E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 21, 00:00 | 16.3S 172.2E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 21, 06:00 | 16.5S 172.2E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 21, 12:00 | 16.8S 172.2E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 21, 18:00 | 17.0S 172.2E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 22, 00:00 | 17.3S 172.2E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 22, 06:00 | 17.6S 172.1E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 22, 12:00 | 17.9S 171.9E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 22, 18:00 | 18.1S 171.7E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 23, 00:00 | 18.3S 171.5E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 23, 06:00 | 18.5S 171.3E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 23, 12:00 | 18.8S 171.1E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 23, 18:00 | 19.2S 170.9E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 24, 00:00 | 19.6S 170.9E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 24, 06:00 | 19.8S 171.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 24, 12:00 | 19.9S 171.1E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 24, 18:00 | 20.0S 171.3E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 25, 00:00 | 20.2S 171.7E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 25, 06:00 | 20.4S 172.4E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 25, 12:00 | 20.6S 173.1E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 25, 18:00 | 20.8S 173.8E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 26, 00:00 | 21.0S 174.5E | 35 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 26, 06:00 | 21.4S 175.2E | 45 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 26, 12:00 | 21.8S 175.8E | 45 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 26, 18:00 | 22.4S 176.1E | 45 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 27, 00:00 | 23.1S 176.3E | 55 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 27, 06:00 | 23.8S 176.5E | 65 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 27, 12:00 | 24.5S 176.7E | 65 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 27, 18:00 | 25.1S 177.0E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 28, 00:00 | 25.7S 177.3E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 28, 06:00 | 26.1S 177.6E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 28, 12:00 | 26.3S 177.9E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 28, 18:00 | 26.4S 178.2E | 65 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 29, 00:00 | 26.5S 178.7E | 65 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 29, 06:00 | 26.5S 179.5E | 60 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 29, 12:00 | 26.6S 179.4W | 60 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 29, 18:00 | 27.2S 178.6W | 60 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 30, 00:00 | 27.8S 178.5W | 55 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 30, 06:00 | 28.2S 178.6W | 55 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 30, 12:00 | 28.4S 178.8W | 55 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 30, 18:00 | 28.5S 179.1W | 55 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 00:00 | 28.5S 179.3W | 50 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 06:00 | 28.6S 179.4W | 50 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 12:00 | 28.7S 179.2W | 50 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 31, 18:00 | 28.9S 178.9W | 45 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 1, 00:00 | 29.1S 178.5W | 40 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 1, 06:00 | 29.5S 177.9W | 40 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 1, 12:00 | 30.1S 177.0W | 35 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 1, 18:00 | 31.1S 176.6W | 35 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 2, 00:00 | 32.3S 176.4W | 35 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 2, 06:00 | 33.4S 175.7W | 35 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 2, 12:00 | 34.4S 174.7W | 35 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 2, 18:00 | 35.6S 173.9W | 35 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 3, 00:00 | 37.1S 173.1W | 35 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Feb 3, 06:00 | 40.0S 186.0E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 3, 12:00 | 42.0S 185.0E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 3, 18:00 | 43.2S 184.0E | 30 kt | 988 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 4, 00:00 | 45.0S 183.5E | 30 kt | 989 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 4, 06:00 | 46.5S 183.5E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 4, 12:00 | 47.8S 183.7E | 30 kt | 994 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 4, 18:00 | 49.2S 183.9E | 30 kt | 992 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 5, 00:00 | 51.0S 185.0E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 5, 06:00 | 52.0S 188.0E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 5, 12:00 | 53.5S 190.5E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1997
- Tropical Storm CyrilSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone FergusSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone PhilSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone RachelSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone DrenaSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone EvanSouth Pacific · 1997
- Tropical Storm GillianSouth Pacific · 1997
- Tropical Storm HaroldSouth Pacific · 1997
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1997
- Tropical Storm ItaSouth Pacific · 1997
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone GavinSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone JustinSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone HinaSouth Pacific · 1997
- Tropical Storm IanSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone JuneSouth Pacific · 1997
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone KeliSouth Pacific · 1997
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.