Cyclone Phil (1997)

Basin

South Pacific

Dates

December 22, 1996 to January 16, 1997

Peak strength

Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)

Lowest pressure

975 mb (28.79 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

13.4

Identifier

SH121997

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

• Tropical Storm CyrilSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm50 kt · 987 mb
• Cyclone FergusSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 290 kt · 955 mb
• Cyclone RachelSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 180 kt · 965 mb
• Cyclone DrenaSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 4120 kt · 935 mb
• Cyclone EvanSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 170 kt · 965 mb
• Cyclone FredaSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 165 kt · 980 mb
• Tropical Storm GillianSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm45 kt · 995 mb
• Tropical Storm HaroldSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm55 kt · 975 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Depression25 kt
• Tropical Storm ItaSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm35 kt · 994 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm50 kt · 975 mb
• Cyclone GavinSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 4120 kt · 925 mb
• Cyclone JustinSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 290 kt · 955 mb
• Cyclone HinaSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 175 kt · 965 mb
• Tropical Storm IanSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm55 kt · 987 mb
• Cyclone JuneSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 165 kt · 985 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1997Tropical Storm35 kt
• Cyclone KeliSouth Pacific · 1997Cat 4115 kt · 955 mb

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.

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.