The 1997 season

Cyclone Gretelle (1997)

Cyclone Gretelle reached Category 4 in the South Indian between January 18, 1997 and January 31, 1997, with a lowest pressure of 950 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Cyclone Gretelle, 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
South Indian
Dates
January 18, 1997 to January 31, 1997
Peak strength
Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
Lowest pressure
950 mb (28.05 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
18.3
Fastest the center moved
23 kt (26 mph)
Identifier
SH201997

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jan 18, 00:0011.1S 58.8E10 ktTropical storm
Jan 18, 06:0011.6S 58.1E15 ktTropical storm
Jan 18, 12:0012.4S 57.9E15 ktTropical storm
Jan 18, 18:0013.2S 58.0E15 ktTropical storm
Jan 19, 00:0013.9S 58.1E20 ktTropical storm
Jan 19, 06:0014.7S 58.3E20 ktTropical storm
Jan 19, 12:0015.4S 58.5E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Jan 19, 18:0015.8S 58.5E25 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 00:0016.1S 58.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 06:0016.3S 57.7E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 12:0016.6S 57.1E40 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 20, 18:0016.9S 56.6E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 00:0017.1S 56.2E45 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 06:0017.3S 55.9E50 kt984 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 12:0017.6S 55.7E55 kt984 mbTropical storm
Jan 21, 18:0017.8S 55.3E60 kt984 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 00:0017.8S 54.9E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 06:0018.0S 54.5E70 kt973 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 12:0018.3S 54.1E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Jan 22, 18:0018.7S 53.7E80 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 00:0019.4S 53.2E85 kt950 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 06:0020.0S 52.3E85 kt950 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 12:0020.7S 51.6E90 kt950 mbTropical storm
Jan 23, 18:0021.4S 50.7E100 kt950 mbTropical storm
Jan 24, 00:0022.1S 49.6E110 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jan 24, 06:0022.6S 48.5E115 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jan 24, 12:0022.8S 47.5E115 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jan 24, 18:0023.0S 46.5E100 ktTropical storm
Jan 25, 00:0023.3S 45.7E85 ktTropical storm
Jan 25, 06:0023.6S 44.8E65 ktTropical storm
Jan 25, 12:0023.9S 43.8E45 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 25, 18:0024.1S 42.7E45 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 26, 00:0024.3S 41.6E45 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 26, 06:0024.7S 40.8E45 kt997 mbTropical storm
Jan 26, 12:0025.0S 40.1E45 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 26, 18:0025.4S 39.4E45 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 27, 00:0025.7S 38.8E45 kt995 mbTropical storm
Jan 27, 06:0026.0S 38.3E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jan 27, 12:0026.3S 37.6E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jan 27, 18:0026.2S 36.9E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jan 28, 00:0026.2S 36.6E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jan 28, 06:0026.2S 36.3E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jan 28, 12:0026.3S 36.1E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jan 28, 18:0026.4S 36.3E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jan 29, 00:0026.5S 36.5E65 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jan 29, 06:0026.5S 36.8E60 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jan 29, 12:0026.6S 37.1E55 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jan 29, 18:0027.0S 37.4E50 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jan 30, 00:0027.5S 37.5E45 kt984 mbTropical storm
Jan 30, 06:0028.1S 37.7E45 kt984 mbTropical storm
Jan 30, 12:0028.6S 38.0E40 kt984 mbTropical storm
Jan 30, 18:0029.1S 38.6E40 kt984 mbTropical storm
Jan 31, 00:0029.9S 39.0E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jan 31, 06:0031.2S 39.3E35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jan 31, 12:0033.0S 39.7E30 ktMixed
Jan 31, 18:0035.1S 40.0E30 ktMixed

Other South Indian 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.