Hurricane History Map

Cyclone Gita path, 2018

South Pacific and Australian region basin, 7 February 2018 to 22 February 2018. Its recorded track is shown on the map and selected for you.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

What the record says

Gita was a cyclone in the South Pacific and Australian region basin that lasted about 15 days, from 7 February 2018 to 22 February 2018. Its peak was Category 4 (125 kt) on 12 February 2018, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 125 kt (144 mph, 232 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 927 hPa.

  • Category 4peak intensity
  • 125 ktpeak wind (144 mph)
  • 927 hPalowest pressure
  • 15 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (southern hemisphere). The regional forecast centre (RSMC Nadi (Fiji Meteorological Service)) gave a peak of 110 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

It has its own page because it reached category 4 or stronger.

This page gives the official record's figures. It does not describe the human cost of the storm, which is far larger than any wind speed or pressure here.

Where it came ashore

The record shows no landfall: the storm stayed at sea.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

How to read this track

The line joins the storm's six-hourly positions with straight lines, coloured by its intensity at each point, so it shows how the storm strengthened and weakened. The real path curved between the positions. A dashed grey stretch means the storm had become post-tropical. Records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are estimates.

Source: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS, public domain. See data sources and caveats.

Other notable storms of the 2018 South Pacific and Australian region season

Other notable storms near Tonga

  • Ian (2014)4 January 2014 to 15 January 2014, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 935 hPa
  • Wilma (2011)20 January 2011 to 30 January 2011, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 939 hPa
  • Eseta (2003)8 March 2003 to 15 March 2003, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 925 hPa
  • Isaac (1982)27 February 1982 to 5 March 1982, peak Category 3 (108 kt), 930 hPa
  • Pola (2019)25 February 2019 to 3 March 2019, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa

The 2018 South Pacific and Australian region season · All notable storms

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