1990–91 South Pacific cyclone season
Encyclopedia
The 1990–91 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active cyclone seasons, with only three tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific to the east of 160°E
. The season officially ran from November 1, 1990, to April 30, 1991 with the first disturbance of the season forming on November 23 and the last disturbance dissipating on May 19. This is the period of the year when most tropical cyclones form within the South Pacific Ocean. During the season there was no one killed from tropical disturbances whilst they were within the South Pacific. However six people were killed by Cyclone Joy when it made landfall on Australia. As a result of the impacts caused by Joy and Sina, the names were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists.
During the season, tropical cyclones were monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) in Nadi, Fiji
, and in Wellington, New Zealand
.TCWC Nadi warned on systems in the South Pacific located from the Equator
to 25°S
and from 160°E
to 120°W
. TCWC Wellington warns on systems from 25°S
to 40°S
and from 160°E to 120°W Whilst tropical cyclones that moved to the west of 160°E were monitored as a part of the Australian region by the TCWC in Brisbane Australia. Both the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) and the Naval Western Oceanography Center (NWOC) issued unofficial warnings within the southern Pacific. The JTWC issued warnings between 160°E
and the International Date Line
whilst the NWOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between the International Date Line and the coasts of the Americas. Both the JTWC and the NWOC designated tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix with numbers assigned in order to tropical cyclones developing within the whole of the Southern Hemisphere. TCWC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measure windspeeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC and the NWOC measured sustained winds over a period of one minute and use the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
As a result of the South Pacific Convergence Zone
being both weaker and located further to the north than in previous seasons and the Madden–Julian oscillations being weaker and less regular defined than in the previous two tropical cyclone seasons, only three tropical cyclones occurred within the South Pacific between 160°E and 120°W. The first tropical cyclone developed as a tropical disturbance on November 20 before it was named Sina on November 24 as it intensified into a tropcial cyclone. After peaking as a category three severe tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale, Sina affected Fiji
, Tonga
, Niue
and the Southern Cook Islands with total damage estimated at (1991 USD) before dissipating on December 4. While looking back at the 1990-91 season, both TCWC Nadi and TCWC Wellington identified a weak gale force tropical cyclone that had affected Tonga between December 14–17. On December 15, TCWC Nadi reported that a tropical depression had developed near the Solomon Islands. Moving towards the east the depression went on to affect the Solomon Islands
without causing any deaths or damage, before it moved into the Australian region on December 17. The tropical depression was then named Joy by TCWC Brisbane on December 19, before it made landfall in Queensland on December 26. The basin then remained quiet until March 15, when the JTWC reported that Tropical Depression 16P had moved into the basin. Over the next couple of days the depression slowly intensified before peaking with 1-minute winds of 65 km/h (35 mph) early on March 18.The figures for maximum sustained wind
s and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (knots, miles, or kilometers), following the convention used in the Fiji Meteorological Service's operational products for each storm. All other units are rounded to the nearest digit. Moving towards the south the depression passed over New Caledonia
on March 20 before dissipating the next day. The final tropical cyclone of the season, Lisa, moved into the Southern Pacific on May 11 at its peak intensity of 110 km/h (75 mph). During the next day as the storm moved towards the subtropical jet, Lisa rapidly weakened into a tropical depression before passing over Anatom Island
without causing any serious damage or deaths. After passing over Anatom, the depression weakened into an extratropical cyclone
with it remnants tracked until May 20 when they dissipated to the east of New Zealand. After the season both Sina and Joy were retired from the naming lists.
While it was active, Sina was responsible for FJ$ (US$) in damage to Fiji, while no deaths and minor damage was reported within Tonga, Niue and the Southern Cook Islands. Within Fiji as there was no major flooding reported, it was assumed by TCWC Nadi that most of the damage had been done by the wind. On the western and southern coasts of Viti Levu, Sina's storm surge was responsible for some coastal erosion.
, a weak tropical depression formed about 500 km (300 mi), to the south-east of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. The JTWC then classified it as Tropical Cyclone 06P later that day and started to issue warnings on the depression. During the next couple of days the depression gradually moved towards the east and moved into the Australian basin during December 17 and was later named Joy.
during the 1990–91 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian Tropical cyclone intensity scale, duration, name, landfalls, deaths, and damages. All data is taken from the warning centers from the region unless otherwise noted.
|-
| || Sina || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Cook Islands || || None ||
|-
| || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Tonga || None || None ||
|-
| || Joy || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands || None || None ||
|-
| || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || New Caledonia || None || None ||
|-
| || Lisa || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Vanuatu || None || None ||
|-class="unsortable"
! colspan=10| Season Aggregates
|-class="unsortable"
!colspan=2| 5 disturbances !! November 23 – May 19 !! !! 140 km/h (85 mph) !! 960 hPa (28.35 inHg) !! !! 18,500,000 || 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, 1990, to April 30, 1991 with the first disturbance of the season forming on November 23 and the last disturbance dissipating on May 19. This is the period of the year when most tropical cyclones form within the South Pacific Ocean. During the season there was no one killed from tropical disturbances whilst they were within the South Pacific. However six people were killed by Cyclone Joy when it made landfall on Australia. As a result of the impacts caused by Joy and Sina, the names were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists.
During the season, tropical cyclones were monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) 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 in 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...
.TCWC Nadi warned on systems in the South Pacific located from the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
to 25°S
25th parallel south
The 25th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 25 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn...
and from 160°E
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....
to 120°W
120th meridian west
The meridian 120° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. TCWC Wellington warns on systems from 25°S
25th parallel south
The 25th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 25 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn...
to 40°S
40th parallel south
The 40th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 40 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
and from 160°E to 120°W Whilst tropical cyclones that moved to the west of 160°E were monitored as a part of the Australian region by the TCWC in Brisbane Australia. Both the United States 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 the Naval Western Oceanography Center (NWOC) issued unofficial warnings within the southern Pacific. The JTWC issued warnings between 160°E
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....
and the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
whilst the NWOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between the International Date Line and the coasts of the Americas. Both the JTWC and the NWOC designated tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix with numbers assigned in order to tropical cyclones developing within the whole of the Southern Hemisphere. TCWC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measure windspeeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC and the NWOC measured sustained winds over a period of one minute and use the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Seasonal summary
As a result of the South Pacific Convergence Zone
South Pacific convergence zone
The South Pacific Convergence Zone , a reverse-oriented monsoon trough, is a band of low-level convergence, cloudiness and precipitation extending from the west Pacific warm pool south-eastwards towards French Polynesia...
being both weaker and located further to the north than in previous seasons and the Madden–Julian oscillations being weaker and less regular defined than in the previous two tropical cyclone seasons, only three tropical cyclones occurred within the South Pacific between 160°E and 120°W. The first tropical cyclone developed as a tropical disturbance on November 20 before it was named Sina on November 24 as it intensified into a tropcial cyclone. After peaking as a category three severe tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale, Sina affected Fiji
Fiji
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...
, Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, Niue
Niue
Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
and the Southern Cook Islands with total damage estimated at (1991 USD) before dissipating on December 4. While looking back at the 1990-91 season, both TCWC Nadi and TCWC Wellington identified a weak gale force tropical cyclone that had affected Tonga between December 14–17. On December 15, TCWC Nadi reported that a tropical depression had developed near the Solomon Islands. Moving towards the east the depression went on to affect the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
without causing any deaths or damage, before it moved into the Australian region on December 17. The tropical depression was then named Joy by TCWC Brisbane on December 19, before it made landfall in Queensland on December 26. The basin then remained quiet until March 15, when the JTWC reported that Tropical Depression 16P had moved into the basin. Over the next couple of days the depression slowly intensified before peaking with 1-minute winds of 65 km/h (35 mph) early on March 18.The figures for maximum sustained wind
Maximum sustained wind
The maximum sustained winds associated with a tropical cyclone are a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, they are found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. Unlike gusts, the value of these winds are...
s and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (knots, miles, or kilometers), following the convention used in the Fiji Meteorological Service's operational products for each storm. All other units are rounded to the nearest digit. Moving towards the south the depression passed over New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
on March 20 before dissipating the next day. The final tropical cyclone of the season, Lisa, moved into the Southern Pacific on May 11 at its peak intensity of 110 km/h (75 mph). During the next day as the storm moved towards the subtropical jet, Lisa rapidly weakened into a tropical depression before passing over Anatom Island
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
without causing any serious damage or deaths. After passing over Anatom, the depression weakened into an extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
with it remnants tracked until May 20 when they dissipated to the east of New Zealand. After the season both Sina and Joy were retired from the naming lists.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Sina
On November 20, TCWC Nadi reported that a tropical disturbance had formed to the west of Wallis Island. Over the next couple of days the disturbance gradually developed and was classified as Tropical Depression 03P by the JTWC and TCWC Nadi on November 23. During the next day the depression intensified into a tropcial cyclone and was subsequently named by TCWC Nadi as Sina at 1800 UTC, (0600 FST, November 25). During November 25, Sina moved erratically around Rotuma before beginning to move slowly towards the south whilst gradually intensifying before early the next day it intensified into a severe tropical cyclone with hurricane force winds. Later that day TCWC Nadi reported that Sina had peaked at 140 km/h (85 mph). The JTWC reported at this time that Sina was still intensifying before reporting that the windspeeds had peaked at 230 km/h (145 mph) early on November 27. During November 27 Sina moved around the southern edge of Viti Levu before passing over several of the smaller islands within the Fiji group of islands. The storm then continued to move towards the southeast whilst weakening passing close to the island of Tongatapu in Tonga and Niue. Sina eventually became extratropical on November 30 to the south of Niue before being absorbed by a trough of low pressure.While it was active, Sina was responsible for FJ$ (US$) in damage to Fiji, while no deaths and minor damage was reported within Tonga, Niue and the Southern Cook Islands. Within Fiji as there was no major flooding reported, it was assumed by TCWC Nadi that most of the damage had been done by the wind. On the western and southern coasts of Viti Levu, Sina's storm surge was responsible for some coastal erosion.
Tropical Depression Joy
During December 15, in response to the formation of Typhoon Russ1990 Pacific typhoon season
Tropical Storm Lewis was a minimal tropical storm that only held said intensity for 2 days.-Severe Tropical Storm Nathan :A tropical disturbance trekked across the Philippines in mid June, upon entering the South China Sea a depression formed. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Nathan...
, a weak tropical depression formed about 500 km (300 mi), to the south-east of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. The JTWC then classified it as Tropical Cyclone 06P later that day and started to issue warnings on the depression. During the next couple of days the depression gradually moved towards the east and moved into the Australian basin during December 17 and was later named Joy.
Tropical Depression 16P
On March 15 the JTWC reported that Tropical Depression 16P, had moved into the Southern Pacific from the Australian region. Over the next couple of days the depression moved slowly to the southeast, whilst gradually intensifying before it reached its peak 1-minute winds of 65 km/h (35 mph) early on March 18. Moving towards the east the depression passed over New Caledonia on March 20 before dissipating the next day as it moved back into the Australian region.Tropical Cyclone Lisa
Early on May 11 TCWC Nadi, reported that Cyclone Lisa had moved into the South Pacific from the Australian basin at its 10-minute peak intensity of 110 km/h (75 mph). During that day as Lisa moved towards the subtropical jet the cyclone rapidly weakened becoming a tropical depression during the next day. Tropical Depression Lisa then passed over Anatom Island in Vanuatu and weakened into an extratropical depression, before primary warning responsibility for Lisa was passed to TCWC Wellington during May 13 as it moved to the south of 25S. The Cyclone then began to deepen under an upper level mid latitude trough during May 14, before explosively regenerating early the next day reaching a secondary peak of 100 km/h (65 mph). Lisa remnants were then tracked by TCWC Wellington until May 20 when they dissipated about 2600 km (1615 mi) to the east of Wellington, New Zealand. There were no reports of any significant damage associated with Lisa.Season effects
This table lists all the storms that developed in the South Pacific to the east of longitude 160°E160th 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....
during the 1990–91 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian Tropical cyclone intensity scale, duration, name, landfalls, deaths, and damages. All data is taken from the warning centers from the region unless otherwise noted.
|-
| || Sina || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Cook Islands || || None ||
|-
| || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Tonga || None || None ||
|-
| || Joy || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Solomon Islands || None || None ||
|-
| || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || New Caledonia || None || None ||
|-
| || Lisa || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Vanuatu || None || None ||
|-class="unsortable"
! colspan=10| Season Aggregates
|-class="unsortable"
!colspan=2| 5 disturbances !! November 23 – May 19 !! !! 140 km/h (85 mph) !! 960 hPa (28.35 inHg) !! !! 18,500,000 || None ||
|}
See also
- List of Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons
- List of South Pacific cyclone seasons
- Atlantic hurricane seasons: 19901990 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1990 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season since 1969. It officially began on June 1, 1990, and lasted until November 30, 1990. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin...
, 19911991 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1991 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season in over 24 years in which no hurricanes developed from tropical waves, which are the source for most North Atlantic tropical cyclones. The hurricane season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. It was the least... - Pacific hurricane seasons: 19901990 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 1990 Pacific hurricane season is the fifth most active season on record. The 1990 season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical...
, 19911991 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 1991 Pacific hurricane season was an event in tropical cyclone meteorology. The worst storm this year was Tropical Depression Five-E, which killed one person in Mexico. Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Ignacio injured forty people in Mexico, and Hurricane Fefa caused flooding in Hawaii... - Pacific typhoon seasons: 19901990 Pacific typhoon seasonTropical Storm Lewis was a minimal tropical storm that only held said intensity for 2 days.-Severe Tropical Storm Nathan :A tropical disturbance trekked across the Philippines in mid June, upon entering the South China Sea a depression formed. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Nathan...
, 19911991 Pacific typhoon seasonTropical Storm Enrique formed in the eastern Pacific basin, where it reached it's peak intensity as a category 1 Hurricane, becoming Hurricane Enrique. Enrique lasted for 6 days before becoming a remnant low, shortly after entering in the central Pacific.... - North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 19901990 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonOn April 17, an area of convective activity formed to the east of Sri Lanka, and organized itself rapidly before a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert, was issued later that day. It was designated as Tropical Depression 01B by the JTWC early the next day...
, 19911991 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 1991 North Indian Ocean Cyclone season was the period in which tropical cyclones formed to the north of the equator in the Indian ocean. During the season tropical cyclones were monitored by the India Meteorological Department and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The IMD assigned all...