Cyclone Evan
| Category 4 severe tropical cyclone (Aus scale) | |
|---|---|
| Category 4 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Tropical Cyclone Evan just off the western coast of Fiji on December 17
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| Formed | December 9, 2012 |
| Dissipated | December 27, 2012 |
| (Extratropical after December 19) | |
| Highest winds |
10-minute sustained: 185 km/h (115 mph) 1-minute sustained: 230 km/h (145 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 943 hPa (mbar); 27.85 inHg |
| Fatalities | 14 confirmed |
| Damage | $315.8 million (2012 USD) |
| Areas affected | Samoa, American Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand |
| 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. 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 developed into a tropical cyclone. During that day the system moved toward the Samoan Islands and gradually intensified, before the system slowed down 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.
During December 9, the Fiji Meteorological Service started to monitor Tropical Depression 04F, that had developed within the South Pacific Convergence Zone about 700 km (435 mi) to the northeast of Suva, Fiji. Over the next couple of days, the system gradually developed further, as it was steered eastwards by an upper level ridge of high pressure. During December 11, as the system passed near the island of Futuna, the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) initiated warnings on the system and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 04P, after it had become equivalent to a tropical storm. During that day the precipitation radar on NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission observed a complete eyewall surrounding the system's eye, which NASA speculated could mean that Evan was stronger than originally thought. The FMS subsequently named the system Evan during December 12, after it had become a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale.
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