1993–94 South Pacific cyclone season
Encyclopedia
The 1993–94 South Pacific cyclone season was a near average tropical cyclone season with five tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific to the east of 160°E
. The season officially ran from November 1, 1993, to April 30, 1994 with the first disturbance of the season forming on December 26 and the last disturbance dissipating on April 25.
During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center
(RSMC) in Nadi, Fiji
, and the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) in Brisbane, Australia
and Wellington, New Zealand
. Throughout the season the United States Navy also monitored the basin and issued unofficial warnings, through its Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) and Naval Western and Oceanography Center (NWOC). Tropical cyclones that were located between 160°E and 120°W as well as the Equator and 25°S were monitored by RSMC Nadi while any that were located to the south of 25°S between 160°E and 120°W were monitored by TCWC Wellington. During the season the JTWC issued warnings on any tropical cyclone that was located between 160°E and 180° while the NPMOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between the 180° and the American coast. RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both used the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measured windspeeds over a 10-minute period during the season, while the JTWC and the NPMOC measured sustained windspeeds over a 1 -minute period.
island. Over the next couple of days the disturbance gradually developed further while moving towards the southwest. Early on December 28, TCWC Nadi started to monitor the system as a tropical depression, before reporting later that day with the JTWC that it had intensified into a tropical cyclone and naming it Rewa. After it was named, Rewa slowly deepened further as it continued to move towards the southwest, before passing through the Solomon Islands and into the Australian region on December 29.
The cyclone then moved back into the basin on January 4 as a weakening category 3 severe tropical cyclone with TCWC Nadi reporting that Rewa had 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 80 knots, while the JTWC estimated that the system had 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 90knots. During that day the system continued with its eastwards movement while slowly weakening further, before it passed over Southern New Caledonia and the Loyalty islands late on January 5.
By 1800 UTC 5 January, while still weakening, the cyclone passed over central New Caledonia heading in a northeasterly direction. This movement generally persisted until 1200 UTC on 7 January when the central pressure had risen to 1000 hPa. Near this point the weakening system recurved to the northwest and continued to move in this direction until late on 10 January. Shortly afterwards the system assumed a more westerly movement.
Early on 1I January Rewa was showing signs of intensification and had begun to move in a long arc to the northwest and then to the north. Later that day the intensification rate had slowed. Intensification resumed on 13 January and at 0600 UTC the system was situated near the north-west tip of Tagula Island in the Louisiade Archipelago with central pressure estimated to be 985 hPa. The cyclone then executed a sharp clockwise turn just off the northern side of Tagula Island and by 1800 UTC was moving steadily southeast. The reinvigorated Rewa continued to move southeast and by 1800 UTC on 16 January the central pressure was estimated to have fallen to 920 hPa. This central pressure was estimated to have occurred over the 12-hour period from 1200 UTC 16 January to 0000 UTC 17 January, equalling the lowest pressure achieved by Rewa earlier in its lifetime. The cyclone then recurved to the west-southwest. Fortunately it was weakening as it approached the Queensland coastline. By 0000 UTC 19 January Rewa had turned south on a track parallel to the Queensland coast. From 1800 UTC the track was more towards the southeast away from the coast while weakening continued. Rewa was estimated to have weakened to below cyclone strength by the morning of 21 January when located north of Lord Howe Island.
The remnants of the cyclone moved southeast across the Tasman Sea, approaching the north of the South Island of New Zealand during 23 January where very heavy rainfalls were recorded (Ready 1994).
The two periods when the cyclone was at maximum intensity occurred when the cyclone was well away from land. However nine people were lost in a boat off the east coast of Papua New Guinea due to heavy seas associated with Rewa . A boy died when trapped in a storm water pipe after heavy thunderstorm rainfall over Brisbane. The heavy rain was caused by an interaction between a front and the decaying cyclone.
with peak windspeeds of 55 km/h (35 mph) equivalent to a tropical depression. During the next day the depression remained broad and poorly organized as it moved towards the southeast. Later that day 07P moved across Tonga's northern islands, before the NPMOC issued their final advisory on January 8 as the system weakened into a remnant low.
. During that day the disturbance moved towards the southeast and passed over several of the Solomon Islands, before emerging into the Australian basin. Over the next couple of days the disturbance gradually developed further while moving towards the southwest before re-curving and moving southeastwards. On April 24, as it moved back into the South Pacific basin, the JTWC initiated advisories on the disturbance, designating it as Tropical Cyclone 29P, with peak windspeeds equivalent to a tropical depression. As the system was classified, it recurved again and started to move slowly towards the northwest, and started to feel the effects of a hgih amount of vertical windshear. As a result of the windshear, the center became exposed and displaced from the deep convection before the JTWC issued their final advisory on April 25 as 29P weakened into an area of low pressure, before dissipating later that day about 600 km (372.8 mi) to the southwest of Honiara.
|-
| 05P || || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, New Zealand || Unknown|| 22 ||
|-
| 07P || N/A || January 6-8 || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands || None || None ||
|-
| 11P || || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|165 km/h (105 mph) || bgcolor=#| || || ||
|-
| 18P || Theodore || February 26 – March 3 || bgcolor=#|Category 4 severe tropical cyclone || bgcolor=#|185 km/h (115 mph) || bgcolor=#|933 hPa (27.55 inHg) || || || ||
|-
| 24P || Tomas || March 19 – 27 || bgcolor=#|Category 3 severe tropical cyclone || bgcolor=#||| bgcolor=#|955 hPa (28.20 inHg) || || || ||
|-
| 25P || Usha || March 22 – April 4 || bgcolor=#|Category 2 tropical cyclone || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|980 hPa (28.94 inHg) || || || ||
|-
| 29P || N/A || April 24-25 || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands || None || None ||
|}
160th meridian east
The meridian 160° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. The season officially ran from November 1, 1993, to April 30, 1994 with the first disturbance of the season forming on December 26 and the last disturbance dissipating on April 25.
During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center
Regional Specialized Meteorological Center
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as part of the World Weather Watch.-Tropical...
(RSMC) in Nadi, Fiji
Fiji Meteorological Service
The Fiji Meteorological Service is a Department of the government of Fiji responsible for providing weather forecasts and is based in Nadi. Since 1995, FMS has been responsible for naming and tracking tropical cyclones in the Southwest Pacific region...
, and the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) in Brisbane, Australia
Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then...
and Wellington, New Zealand
Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited
Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited was established as a State-Owned Enterprise in 1992. It employs about 215 staff and its headquarters are in Wellington, New Zealand...
. Throughout the season the United States Navy also monitored the basin and issued unofficial warnings, through its Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
(JTWC) and Naval Western and Oceanography Center (NWOC). Tropical cyclones that were located between 160°E and 120°W as well as the Equator and 25°S were monitored by RSMC Nadi while any that were located to the south of 25°S between 160°E and 120°W were monitored by TCWC Wellington. During the season the JTWC issued warnings on any tropical cyclone that was located between 160°E and 180° while the NPMOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between the 180° and the American coast. RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both used the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measured windspeeds over a 10-minute period during the season, while the JTWC and the NPMOC measured sustained windspeeds over a 1 -minute period.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Rewa
Severe Tropical Cyclone Rewa was an erratic tropical cyclone that moved in and out of the basin twice after developing in it. The tropical disturbance that was to become Rewa was first observed by the JTWC on December 26 while it was located about 575 km (355 mi) to the southeast of Yaren on NauruNauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
island. Over the next couple of days the disturbance gradually developed further while moving towards the southwest. Early on December 28, TCWC Nadi started to monitor the system as a tropical depression, before reporting later that day with the JTWC that it had intensified into a tropical cyclone and naming it Rewa. After it was named, Rewa slowly deepened further as it continued to move towards the southwest, before passing through the Solomon Islands and into the Australian region on December 29.
The cyclone then moved back into the basin on January 4 as a weakening category 3 severe tropical cyclone with TCWC Nadi reporting that Rewa had 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 80 knots, while the JTWC estimated that the system had 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 90knots. During that day the system continued with its eastwards movement while slowly weakening further, before it passed over Southern New Caledonia and the Loyalty islands late on January 5.
By 1800 UTC 5 January, while still weakening, the cyclone passed over central New Caledonia heading in a northeasterly direction. This movement generally persisted until 1200 UTC on 7 January when the central pressure had risen to 1000 hPa. Near this point the weakening system recurved to the northwest and continued to move in this direction until late on 10 January. Shortly afterwards the system assumed a more westerly movement.
Early on 1I January Rewa was showing signs of intensification and had begun to move in a long arc to the northwest and then to the north. Later that day the intensification rate had slowed. Intensification resumed on 13 January and at 0600 UTC the system was situated near the north-west tip of Tagula Island in the Louisiade Archipelago with central pressure estimated to be 985 hPa. The cyclone then executed a sharp clockwise turn just off the northern side of Tagula Island and by 1800 UTC was moving steadily southeast. The reinvigorated Rewa continued to move southeast and by 1800 UTC on 16 January the central pressure was estimated to have fallen to 920 hPa. This central pressure was estimated to have occurred over the 12-hour period from 1200 UTC 16 January to 0000 UTC 17 January, equalling the lowest pressure achieved by Rewa earlier in its lifetime. The cyclone then recurved to the west-southwest. Fortunately it was weakening as it approached the Queensland coastline. By 0000 UTC 19 January Rewa had turned south on a track parallel to the Queensland coast. From 1800 UTC the track was more towards the southeast away from the coast while weakening continued. Rewa was estimated to have weakened to below cyclone strength by the morning of 21 January when located north of Lord Howe Island.
The remnants of the cyclone moved southeast across the Tasman Sea, approaching the north of the South Island of New Zealand during 23 January where very heavy rainfalls were recorded (Ready 1994).
The two periods when the cyclone was at maximum intensity occurred when the cyclone was well away from land. However nine people were lost in a boat off the east coast of Papua New Guinea due to heavy seas associated with Rewa . A boy died when trapped in a storm water pipe after heavy thunderstorm rainfall over Brisbane. The heavy rain was caused by an interaction between a front and the decaying cyclone.
Tropical Cyclone 07P
On January 6, the NPMOC reported that Tropical Cyclone 07P, had developed out of an area of low pressure, that had persisted for several days near FijiFiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
with peak windspeeds of 55 km/h (35 mph) equivalent to a tropical depression. During the next day the depression remained broad and poorly organized as it moved towards the southeast. Later that day 07P moved across Tonga's northern islands, before the NPMOC issued their final advisory on January 8 as the system weakened into a remnant low.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Sarah
On January 18, a weak low pressure area developed to the north of Fiji, within a trough of low pressure that extended from a weakening Cyclone Rewa to the northwest of Fiji. Over the next few days the low moved towards the west and passed between the Vanuation islands of Vila and Santo on January 21. Once the low had moved into the Coral Sea it started to rapidly develop further, with both RSMC Nadi and the JTWC reporting early on January 22, that the low had developed into a tropical cyclone, with the latter naming it Sarah.Tropical Depression 29P
On April 20, the JTWC started to monitor an area of low pressure that located over the Solomon Islands about 155 km (96.3 mi) to the north of HoniaraHoniara
Honiara, population 49,107 , 78,190 , is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town...
. During that day the disturbance moved towards the southeast and passed over several of the Solomon Islands, before emerging into the Australian basin. Over the next couple of days the disturbance gradually developed further while moving towards the southwest before re-curving and moving southeastwards. On April 24, as it moved back into the South Pacific basin, the JTWC initiated advisories on the disturbance, designating it as Tropical Cyclone 29P, with peak windspeeds equivalent to a tropical depression. As the system was classified, it recurved again and started to move slowly towards the northwest, and started to feel the effects of a hgih amount of vertical windshear. As a result of the windshear, the center became exposed and displaced from the deep convection before the JTWC issued their final advisory on April 25 as 29P weakened into an area of low pressure, before dissipating later that day about 600 km (372.8 mi) to the southwest of Honiara.
Season effects
This table lists all the storms that developed in the South Pacific basin during the 1993–94 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian Tropical cyclone intensity scale, duration, name, areas affected, deaths, and damages. For most storms the data is taken from TCWC Nadi and Wellingtons archives, however data for 07P and 29P has been taken from the JTWC and the NPMOC archives as opposed to TCWC Nadi, Brisbane and Wellingtons, and thus the winds are over 1-minute as opposed to 10-minutes.|-
| 05P || || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, New Zealand || Unknown|| 22 ||
|-
| 07P || N/A || January 6-8 || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands || None || None ||
|-
| 11P || || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|165 km/h (105 mph) || bgcolor=#| || || ||
|-
| 18P || Theodore || February 26 – March 3 || bgcolor=#|Category 4 severe tropical cyclone || bgcolor=#|185 km/h (115 mph) || bgcolor=#|933 hPa (27.55 inHg) || || || ||
|-
| 24P || Tomas || March 19 – 27 || bgcolor=#|Category 3 severe tropical cyclone || bgcolor=#||| bgcolor=#|955 hPa (28.20 inHg) || || || ||
|-
| 25P || Usha || March 22 – April 4 || bgcolor=#|Category 2 tropical cyclone || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|980 hPa (28.94 inHg) || || || ||
|-
| 29P || N/A || April 24-25 || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands || None || None ||
|}
See also
- List of Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons
- List of South Pacific cyclone seasons
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