Tropical Storm Ian (1997)
Tropical Storm Ian peaked at 55 kt in the South Pacific between April 15, 1997 and April 19, 1997, with a lowest pressure of 987 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Ian, 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.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- April 15, 1997 to April 19, 1997
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 987 mb (29.15 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 232 km (144 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.4
- Identifier
- SH341997
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 00:00 | 10.2S 168.1E | 15 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 15, 06:00 | 11.8S 168.7E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 15, 12:00 | 13.2S 169.5E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 15, 18:00 | 14.4S 170.5E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 16, 00:00 | 15.4S 171.2E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 16, 06:00 | 16.2S 172.1E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 16, 12:00 | 17.1S 172.9E | 35 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 18:00 | 18.0S 173.7E | 40 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 00:00 | 18.8S 174.6E | 45 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 06:00 | 19.5S 175.6E | 50 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 12:00 | 20.0S 176.8E | 55 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 18:00 | 20.6S 177.9E | 55 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 00:00 | 21.1S 179.4E | 55 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 06:00 | 21.4S 179.0W | 50 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 12:00 | 21.7S 177.3W | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 18:00 | 22.0S 175.3W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 19, 00:00 | 22.4S 173.1W | 50 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 19, 06:00 | 22.5S 170.6W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 19, 12:00 | 22.2S 168.1W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 19, 18:00 | 21.8S 165.6W | 40 kt | Tropical storm |
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 GavinSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone JustinSouth Pacific · 1997
- Cyclone HinaSouth 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.