1994–95 South Pacific cyclone season
The South Pacific cyclone season 1994-1995 was a weather event and one of those tropical cyclone season in the South Pacific with very low activity, because were formed in the South Pacific basin between 160 ° E and 120 ° W only three tropical cyclones. The cyclone season lasted from 1 November 1994 to 30 April 1995. The first disturbance of the season developed on 12 November 1994 and the last system disbanded on 17 March 1995. The strongest cyclone during the season was the severity of tropical cyclone Violet, who, however, staying only for 18 hours in the pool. After the season, the names Violet and William were removed from the list of names of tropical cyclones.
During the season, tropical cyclones were officially observed by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers ( TCWC ) of the Fiji Meteorological Service in Nadi, Fiji, the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited in Wellington, New Zealand and the Bureau of Meteorology in Brisbane, Australia. During the season, the United States Navy was watching the weather patterns in the area and gave informal warnings by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center ( JTWC ) and the Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center ( NPMOC ) that are intended for institutions of the United States. Tropical cyclones between the equator and 25 ° S were monitored by the TCWC Nadi, those south of the 25th degree of latitude fell under the jurisdiction of the TCWC Wellington. The JTWC issued warnings to all tropical cyclones between 160 ° E and 180 longitude, while the NPMOC was responsible for tropical cyclones between 180 ° and the west coast of South America. The TCWCs in Nadi, Wellington and Brisbane facing all Australian cyclone scale to be found in the persistent wind speeds over a period of ten minutes, while JTWC and NPMOC determine the ongoing wind speed in a one-minute duration and use the Saffir -Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Season overview
The season as a whole was one of those with, since the records began this formation region the lowest activities. Officially only three tropical cyclones have formed in the South Pacific. The first tropical cyclone of the season formed on November 12 as a tropical depression and received on November 14, the name Vania. This cyclone ended a long dry period in Vanuatu before he broke up northeast of New Caledonia. The basin remained quiet until 13 December, when the Tropical Depression 04P east of the Solomon Islands made before they had an impact on Fiji and Tonga. An unusual tropical cyclogenesis took place in the last days of 1994, when formed northeast of Samoa the Tropical cyclone William. During its existence, William moved to the southeast and had an impact on French Polynesia and the Cook Islands before the storm on January 3, lost its tropical characteristics. After William had left the pool on January 5, the tropics remained quiet until March 6. On the day of the severity of tropical cyclone Violet crossed from the Australian region in the South Pacific and became the strongest tropical cyclone of the season before the cyclone zurückkurvte in the area of responsibility of the TCWC Brisbane. The tropical depression 18P eventually evolved on March 16 near Fiji, before the south-east of the island nation broke up the next day.
The names William and Violet were canceled after the season of the list of names for tropical cyclones. The World Meteorological Organization made in June 1995, the TCWC Nadi to a regional Specialized Meteorological Center.
Storms
Tropical cyclone Vania
On November 12, reported the TCWC Nadi that has formed within an existing area with a tropical depression convection and 795 km northeast of Port Vila the capital of Vanuatu. As the system moved to the southwest, it intensified steadily before it was classified as the next day Tropical cyclone 01P from JTWC, whose one-minute sustained wind speeds were equivalent to a tropical storm. Early on 14 November, the TCWC Nadi found that the system that was led by the JTWC under the name 01P, had intensified to a Category 1 cyclone and procurement therefore the name Vania. During the day itself Vania intensified further and still attracted to the southwest before the cyclone hit the next day on the island of Efate, Vanuatu. Just before landfall reported the Nadi TCWC that Vania had intensified to a Category 2 cyclone. Meteorologists in Nadi presented the ten-minute peak wind speed fixed at 100 km / hr, the JTWC recorded one-minute peak wind speeds of 110 km / h.
Vania left the archipelago of Vanuatu. Thereafter, the cyclone moved first southwards before it struck a curve and targeted to the northwest. During the 16th November, the storm came under the influence of wind shear and began to weaken rapidly. The next day the JTWC in Honolulu last warning to Vania gave out because the system had weakened to a tropical depression. The TCWC Nadi Vania observed for several more hours and published the final warning in the morning of 18 November, when the system dissolved north of New Caledonia. In Vanuatu, only minor damage to agriculture and bush huts were reported. There have been no reported loss of life. Because Vania on November 15 had an impact on parts of the island state, which votes in the provincial elections had to be extended by 24 hours.
Tropical Depression 04P
On December 13, the U.S. Navy began monitoring an area with disturbed weather that was located about 720 kilometers east of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. On this day also the TCWC Nadi began with the observation of the pulling towards Fiji's system as a tropical depression. Over the next few days the depression moved further to the southeast in the direction of Fiji and it continued to develop steadily. On 15 December, the NPMOC began with the issue of storm warnings and classified the system as 04P. It was at this time about 110 km northeast of Labasa, Fiji. During the day the NPMOC reported that the system had developed into a tropical storm, reached the one-minute wind speeds of 65 km / hr. The storm had an impact on several of the Fiji Islands, including Vanua Levu and Thikombia. On December 16, the storm moved further to the southeast and began to Tonga to impact before the NPMOC spent the last storm warning because the system had weakened into a tropical depression. The next day the system arrived in the area of responsibility of the TCWC Wellington and was told there for extratropical.
Tropical cyclone William
On December 30, reported the Nadi TCWC that some 860 km north-east of Pago Pago in American Samoa has formed a tropical depression. The next day the depression moved further to the southeast, which developed steadily and was classified as Tropical Cyclone 05P from NPMOC, with wind speeds equivalent to those of a tropical low pressure area. The meteorologists at the Fiji Meteorological Service vermeldeten early on January 1, intensifying into a tropical depression category 1 cyclone, but forgave them the name William until later in the day. During the New Year's Day, the system intensified further and moved to the southeast. TCWC Nadi William classified early on January 2 in Category 2 high while the cyclone was passing close to the southern Cook Islands. At this time, reported the NPMOC that cyclone William had achieved with one-minute sustained wind speeds of 120 km / h its greatest strength. The pull to the southeast increased during the day. Later, the TCWC Nadi announced that cyclone William had reached his greatest strength with ten-minute sustained wind speeds of 110 km / h during the storm had an impact on parts of French Polynesia.
In the course of the 3rd of January, cyclone William moved on rapidly towards the south-east Pacific ocean that surrounds it and began the transition into an extratropical cyclone. The system crossed the 25 degrees south latitude and thus arrived in the area of responsibility of the TCWC Wellington. At this time the NPMOC spent his last warning to William, as the storm had completely lost its tropical characteristics. Williams remnant low was still pursued by TCWC Wellington until January 5, when it wandered out eastwards from the South Pacific basin. In the Cook Islands William destroyed a dam into a tourist resort on Aitutaki and damaged houses, fruits and coconut trees. The total property damage caused by the cyclone were estimated at 2.5 million U.S. dollars.
Unusual is the tropical cyclogenesis of the storm northeast of American Samoa. This is usually done only during the occurrence of an El Niño.
Severe tropical cyclone Violet
At 00:00 UTC, (12:00 FST) on 6 March found the TCWC Brisbane and the JTWC that the severity of tropical cyclone Violet about 700 km south-west of Noumea, New Caledonia in the South Pacific basin reached. But even twelve hours later, after a right turn, Violet was back in the Australian region.
Tropical Depression 18P
On March 15, the U.S. Navy began monitoring an area of disturbed weather that had formed about 245 km north-east of Nadi, Fiji. During the day, the system moved to the southeast and continued to develop steadily as it skirted on the south coast of Viti Levu. In the course of the next day the NPMOC began with the issuance of warnings to the system and classified it as Tropical Cyclone 18P, the one-minute sustained winds of 55 km / h reached. On 17 March, the depression intensified not continue as it moved further to the southeast. The NPMOC was during the day from the last warning to 18P, because the system is about 960 kilometers southeast of Nuku'alofa, Tonga had dissolved.
Season effects
The table lists all the storm system that formed in the southern Pacific basin during the 1994-1995 season. She closes the intensity of a cyclone on the Australian scale and duration, the affected areas, the number of victims and the amount of reported property damage. For most of these storms this information come from the archives of TCWCs Nadi and Wellington, but for 04P and 18P data were taken from the archive of the JTWC. The wind speeds for these two storms are therefore based on one-minute measurements.