By MetService Meteorologist Claire Flynn
Please note: all times listed below are in New Zealand local time.
As of 1pm today, TC Gita was a Category 3 Tropical Cyclone, with estimated wind speeds of 117 km/hr near the centre, and a central pressure of 970 hPa. It was located over the waters south of New Caledonia at 24.5S, 166.6E, as shown in the latest forecast track map issued by RSMC Nadi in the map below: