Cyclone Gavin (1997)
Cyclone Gavin reached Category 4 in the South Pacific between March 2, 1997 and March 14, 1997, with a lowest pressure of 925 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Cyclone Gavin. 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
- March 2, 1997 to March 14, 1997
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 120 kt (138 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 925 mb (27.32 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 38 km (24 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 29.4
- Fastest the center moved
- 28 kt (32 mph)
- Identifier
- SH311997
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 00:00 | 8.3S 171.4E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 2, 06:00 | 8.5S 171.4E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 2, 12:00 | 8.7S 171.5E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 2, 18:00 | 8.9S 171.7E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 00:00 | 9.1S 172.0E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 06:00 | 9.3S 172.4E | 35 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 12:00 | 9.5S 172.8E | 35 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 18:00 | 9.6S 173.2E | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 00:00 | 9.7S 173.6E | 45 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 06:00 | 9.7S 174.1E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 12:00 | 9.7S 174.9E | 60 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 18:00 | 9.7S 175.7E | 70 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 00:00 | 9.8S 176.7E | 80 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 06:00 | 10.1S 177.7E | 90 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 12:00 | 10.6S 178.6E | 100 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 18:00 | 11.4S 179.2E | 115 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 00:00 | 12.3S 179.6E | 115 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 06:00 | 13.4S 179.5E | 115 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 12:00 | 14.4S 179.1E | 115 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 18:00 | 15.5S 178.7E | 115 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 7, 00:00 | 16.5S 178.1E | 110 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 7, 06:00 | 17.4S 177.2E | 105 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 7, 12:00 | 18.0S 176.3E | 105 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 7, 18:00 | 18.5S 175.8E | 100 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 8, 00:00 | 19.0S 175.6E | 100 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 8, 06:00 | 19.5S 175.6E | 100 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 8, 12:00 | 20.1S 176.0E | 115 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 8, 18:00 | 21.0S 176.7E | 120 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 00:00 | 22.3S 176.9E | 115 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 06:00 | 23.6S 177.0E | 110 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 12:00 | 24.9S 177.0E | 100 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 18:00 | 26.2S 176.8E | 95 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 00:00 | 27.5S 176.6E | 90 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 06:00 | 28.7S 176.5E | 85 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 12:00 | 29.9S 176.5E | 80 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 18:00 | 31.1S 176.5E | 75 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 00:00 | 32.3S 176.5E | 70 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 33.3S 176.5E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 34.0S 177.0E | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 18:00 | 34.2S 177.9E | 55 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 00:00 | 34.4S 179.0E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 06:00 | 34.5S 179.8W | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 12:00 | 35.1S 178.7W | 40 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 18:00 | 36.0S 177.7W | 35 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 00:00 | 37.0S 176.7W | 30 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 06:00 | 38.0S 184.0E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 13, 12:00 | 39.6S 185.3E | 30 kt | 996 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 13, 18:00 | 41.8S 187.0E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 14, 00:00 | 43.3S 188.3E | 30 kt | 986 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 14, 06:00 | 45.5S 190.5E | 30 kt | 986 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 14, 12:00 | 48.0S 192.0E | 30 kt | 986 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 14, 18:00 | 50.0S 194.5E | 30 kt | 982 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
- Cyclone FredaSouth 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 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.