IAN Threatens Tonga with Cat 4 Hurricane Winds

Severe Tropical Cyclone IAN moving toward Vava’u island chain, Tonga

Severe Tropical Cyclone IAN (Tropical Cyclone 07P) was packing sustained winds of about 175 km/h at 02:00UTC on Friday, January 10, 2014, with wind gusts of about 215 km/h moving ESE at about 10 km/h.

IAN could strike Vava’u with destructive winds by as early as 03:00UTC on Saturday, January 11.

Severe Tropical Cyclone  IAN. Water Vapor [FIRE-EARTH Enhancement] Satellite Image. Recorded at 01:52UTC on Friday, January 10, 2014.  Initial Image Sourced from: CIMSS/SSEC/WISC.

Severe Tropical Cyclone IAN
Time: 02:00UTC Friday January 10, 2014
Position: Near 17.5ºS, 175.3ºW
Location: 655km East (84 degrees) of Suva, Fiji
Movement: ESE at 10 km/h
Max Sustained Winds: 175 km/h
Max wind Gusts: 225 km/h
Max Significant Wave Height: 8m
Source: Various Satellites

Note: Category 4 Cyclone has average sustained winds of 159km/h (86 kt) – 198km/h (107kt) and a central pressure of 945-910 hPa.

See also: FEWW New Hurricane Scale