The 1997 season

Super Typhoon Ginger (1997)

Super Typhoon Ginger reached Category 5 in the Western Pacific between September 21, 1997 and October 1, 1997, with a lowest pressure of 925 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Super Typhoon Ginger, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1997 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
September 21, 1997 to October 1, 1997
Peak strength
Category 5, 145 kt (167 mph)
Lowest pressure
925 mb (27.32 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 989 km (615 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
24.2
Identifier
WP241997

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Sep 21, 12:0010.3N 174.7E15 ktNot reported
Sep 21, 18:0010.3N 174.4E15 ktNot reported
Sep 22, 00:0010.2N 173.7E15 ktNot reported
Sep 22, 06:0010.2N 173.0E20 ktNot reported
Sep 22, 12:0010.2N 171.8E20 ktNot reported
Sep 22, 18:0010.2N 170.3E25 ktNot reported
Sep 23, 00:0010.6N 168.8E25 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 06:0011.2N 167.4E25 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 12:0012.1N 166.3E30 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 18:0012.9N 165.3E30 kt1008 mbMixed
Sep 24, 00:0013.7N 164.5E35 kt1006 mbMixed
Sep 24, 06:0014.6N 163.8E40 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Sep 24, 12:0015.3N 163.2E45 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 24, 18:0016.0N 162.6E50 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 00:0016.9N 162.1E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 06:0017.9N 161.6E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 12:0018.9N 161.1E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 18:0019.8N 160.7E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 26, 00:0020.1N 160.5E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Sep 26, 06:0020.4N 160.3E85 kt955 mbTropical storm
Sep 26, 12:0020.8N 160.1E115 kt945 mbTropical storm
Sep 26, 18:0021.4N 159.7E125 kt940 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 00:0021.9N 159.2E145 kt935 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 06:0022.4N 158.7E145 kt935 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 12:0022.9N 158.2E140 kt925 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 18:0023.7N 157.8E135 kt925 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 00:0024.6N 157.4E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 06:0025.6N 157.3E110 kt925 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 12:0026.8N 157.3E110 kt935 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 18:0028.2N 157.6E110 kt935 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 00:0029.8N 158.5E100 kt945 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 06:0031.6N 159.8E95 kt955 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 12:0033.8N 161.9E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 18:0036.4N 164.1E80 kt970 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 00:0039.5N 166.9E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 06:0042.1N 170.3E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 12:0043.8N 173.5E65 kt984 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 18:0045.5N 176.8E60 ktExtratropical
Oct 1, 00:0047.1N 179.5W55 ktNot reported

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.