Cyclone Evan

Category 4 cyclone in the South Pacific in 2012

Severe Tropical Cyclone Evan
Cyclone Evan just off the western coast of Fiji on December 17
Meteorological history
FormedDecember 9, 2012 (2012-12-09)
ExtratropicalDecember 19, 2012 (2012-12-19)
DissipatedDecember 27, 2012 (2012-12-27)
Category 4 severe tropical cyclone
10-minute sustained (FMS)
Highest winds185 km/h (115 mph)
Lowest pressure943 hPa (mbar); 27.85 inHg
Category 4-equivalent tropical cyclone
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds230 km/h (145 mph)
Lowest pressure929 hPa (mbar); 27.43 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities14 confirmed
Damage$313 million (2012 USD)
Areas affectedSamoa, American Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata

Part of the 2012–13 South Pacific cyclone season

Severe Tropical Cyclone Evan was considered to be the worst tropical cyclone to affect the island nation of Samoa since Cyclone Val in 1991 and was the strongest storm to impact the main South Pacific islands until Winston in 2016. The system was first noted on December 9, 2012, as a weak tropical depression about 700 km (435 mi) to the northeast of Suva, Fiji. Over the next couple of days, the depression gradually developed further before it was named Evan on December 12, as it had fully developed into a tropical cyclone. During that day the system moved toward the Samoan Islands and gradually intensified, before the system slowed and severely affected the Samoan Islands during the next day with wind gusts of up to 210 km/h (130 mph).

The storm moved east and impacted the French islands of Wallis and Futuna before affecting Samoa and American Samoa. On December 16, Evan turned to the south and paralleled western areas of Fiji.[1]

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression