1994–95 South Pacific cyclone season
Encyclopedia
The 1994–95 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only three tropical cyclones officially occurring within the South Pacific Ocean basin between 160°E
and 120°W
. The season ran from November 1, 1994 until April 30, 1995 with the first disturbance of the season developing on November 12 and the last disturbance dissipating on March 17. The most intense tropical cyclone during the season was Severe Tropical Cyclone Violet, which was only in the basin for 18 hours. After the season both the names Violet and William were retired, from the tropical cyclone naming lists.
During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) in Nadi, Fiji
, Wellington, New Zealand
and Brisbane, Australia
. Throughout the season the United States Navy also monitored the basin and issued unofficial warnings, through its Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) and Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center (NPMOC). Tropical cyclones that were located between the Equator and 25S were monitored by TCWC Nadi while any that were located to the south of 25S 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 180° and the American coast. TCWC Nadi, Wellington and Brisbane all used the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measured windspeeds over a 10-minute period, while the JTWC and the NPMOC measured sustained windspeeds over a 1-minute period.
The season was one of the most inactive tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only three tropical cyclones officially occurring within the South Pacific Ocean basin between 160°E and 120°W. The first tropical cyclone of the season developed as a tropical depression on November 12, before it was named as Vania on November 14. The cyclone went on to end a long dry spell in Vanuatu
, before it dissipated to the northeast of New Caledonia
. The basin remained quiet until December 13, when Tropical Depression 04P developed to the east of the Solomon Islands
, before going on to affect Fiji
and Tonga
. During the final days of 1994, Tropical Cyclone William developed to the northeast of American Samoa
. Throughout its lifetime, William moved southeast and affected parts of French Polynesia
and the Cook Islands
before becoming extratropical on January 3. After William left the basin on January 5, the basin remained quiet until March 6, when Severe Tropical Cyclone Violet became the strongest tropical cyclone of the season as it moved into the basin, before re-curving back into TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility. Tropical Depression 18P then developed on March 16, near Fiji, before dissipating during the next day to the southeast of Fiji. After the season had ended the names William and Violet were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists, while in June 1995, the World Meteorological Organization made TCWC Nadi an Regional Specialized Meteorological Center
.
, about 795 kilometres (494 mi) to the northeast of Port Vila, Vanuatu. As the system moved towards the southwest, the depression gradually developed further before during the next day, the JTWC designated the depression as Tropical Cyclone 01P, with 1-minute sustained windspeeds equivalent to a tropical storm. Early on November 14, TCWC Nadi reported that 01P had become a category one tropical cyclone, and named it as Vania. Throughout that day, Vania continued to intensify while moving towards the southwest, before it made landfall during the next day on the Vanuatuan island of Efate
, Vanuatu. Shortly before Vania made landfall, TCWC Nadi reported that Vania had become a category two tropical cyclone, before reporting that the system had peak 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 100 km/h (65 mph), while the JTWC reported peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 110 km/h (70 mph).
As Vania moved out of the Vanuatuan archipelago, the system moved towards the south before re-curving and moving towards the northwest. Throughout November 16, the cyclone became sheared and started to weaken quickly, before the JTWC issued their final advisory the next day as Vania weakened into a tropical depression late the next day. Early on November 18, TCWC Nadi issued their final advisory as Vania dissipated to the north of New Caledonia. Only minor damage to crops and bush houses was reported to have occurred in the archipelago while no deaths were reported. As a result of Vania affecting parts of Vanuatu during November 15, voting in provincial elections had to be extended by 24 hours.
in the Solomon Islands
. During that day, TCWC Nadi started to monitor the system as a tropical depression as the system moved southeast towards Fiji. Over the next couple of days, the depression continued to move southeast towards Fiji and gradually developed further. On December 15, the NPMOC initiated advisories on the depression and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 04P, while it was located about 110 km (70 mi) to the northeast of Labasa, Fiji. Later that day, the NPMOC reported that the system had become a tropical storm and reached its peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 65 km/h (40 mph), as it affected several Fijian islands
including Vanua Levu
and Thikombia
. During December 16, the cyclone continued to move towards the southeast and started to affect Tonga
before the NPMOC issued their final warning on the system as it had weakened into a tropical depression. During the next day, the depression moved into TCWC Wellingtons area of responsibility and was subsequently declared extratropical.
. During the next day, as the depression moved to the southeast it gradually developed further, before the NPMOC designated the depression as Tropical Cyclone 05P. TCWC Nadi then reported early on January 1, that the depression had developed into a category one tropical cyclone. However they did not name it as William, until later that day. Throughout January 1, the system continued to intensify, as it moved towards the southeast. TCWC Nadi then reported early the next day, that William had become a category two tropical cyclone as it passed near to the Southern Cook Islands while the NPMOC reported that William, had reached its peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 120 km/h (75 mph). During that day, William accelerated towards the southeast, before TCWC Nadi reported that William had reached its peak 10-minute windspeeds of 110 km/h (70 mph) while affecting parts of French Polynesia.
During January 3, William continued to move rapidly into the Southeastern Pacific Ocean and started to transition into an extratropical cyclone as it approached TCWC Wellingtons area of responsibility. As William moved into TCWC Wellingtons area of responsibility, the NPMOC issued their final advisory on William as it became an extratropical cyclone. Williams remnants were then tracked by TCWC Wellington until January 5 as they continued to move towards the east and out of the South Pacific basin. Within the Cook Islands, William destroyed a causeway to a tourist resort on Aitutaki, and caused damage to houses, crops and coconut trees with the total cost estimated at US$ . William injured two people and destroyed over 150 houses in French Polynesia, where local leaders accused Météo-France off underestimating Williams intensity.
|-
| 01P || Vania || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Vanuatu || Minimal || None ||
|-
| 04P || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Fiji, Tonga || Unknown || Unknown ||
|-
| 05P || William || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Cook Islands, French Polynesia || 2,500,000 || None ||
|-
| 14P || Violet || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
|-
| 18P || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=| || None || None || None ||
|-class="sortbottom"
!colspan=10|Season Aggregates
|-class="sortbottom"
!colspan=2| 5 depressions !! November 23 – March 17 !! !! 130 km/h (80 mph) !! 965 hPa (28.50 inHg) !! !! 2,500,000 !! !!
|}
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 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....
. The season ran from November 1, 1994 until April 30, 1995 with the first disturbance of the season developing on November 12 and the last disturbance dissipating on March 17. The most intense tropical cyclone during the season was Severe Tropical Cyclone Violet, which was only in the basin for 18 hours. After the season both the names Violet and William were retired, from the tropical cyclone naming lists.
During the season, tropical cyclones were officially 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...
, 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...
and 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...
. 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 Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center (NPMOC). Tropical cyclones that were located between the Equator and 25S were monitored by TCWC Nadi while any that were located to the south of 25S were monitored by TCWC Wellington. During the season the JTWC issued warnings on any tropical cyclone that was located between 160°E and 180°
180th meridian
The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian which is 180° east or west of the Prime Meridian passing through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It is common to both east longitude and west longitude. It is used as the basis for the International Date Line because it for the most part passes...
while the NPMOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between 180° and the American coast. TCWC Nadi, Wellington and Brisbane all used the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measured windspeeds over a 10-minute period, while the JTWC and the NPMOC measured sustained windspeeds over a 1-minute period.
Seasonal summary
The season was one of the most inactive tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only three tropical cyclones officially occurring within the South Pacific Ocean basin between 160°E and 120°W. The first tropical cyclone of the season developed as a tropical depression on November 12, before it was named as Vania on November 14. The cyclone went on to end a long dry spell in Vanuatu
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...
, before it dissipated to the northeast of 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...
. The basin remained quiet until December 13, when Tropical Depression 04P developed to the east of 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...
, before going on to affect 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...
and 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...
. During the final days of 1994, Tropical Cyclone William developed to the northeast of American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
. Throughout its lifetime, William moved southeast and affected parts of French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
and the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
before becoming extratropical on January 3. After William left the basin on January 5, the basin remained quiet until March 6, when Severe Tropical Cyclone Violet became the strongest tropical cyclone of the season as it moved into the basin, before re-curving back into TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility. Tropical Depression 18P then developed on March 16, near Fiji, before dissipating during the next day to the southeast of Fiji. After the season had ended the names William and Violet were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists, while in June 1995, the World Meteorological Organization made TCWC Nadi an 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...
.
Tropical Cyclone Vania
On November 12, TCWC Nadi reported that a tropical depression had developed out of a persistent area of convectionConvection
Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
, about 795 kilometres (494 mi) to the northeast of Port Vila, Vanuatu. As the system moved towards the southwest, the depression gradually developed further before during the next day, the JTWC designated the depression as Tropical Cyclone 01P, with 1-minute sustained windspeeds equivalent to a tropical storm. Early on November 14, TCWC Nadi reported that 01P had become a category one tropical cyclone, and named it as Vania. Throughout that day, Vania continued to intensify while moving towards the southwest, before it made landfall during the next day on the Vanuatuan island of Efate
Éfaté
Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...
, Vanuatu. Shortly before Vania made landfall, TCWC Nadi reported that Vania had become a category two tropical cyclone, before reporting that the system had peak 10-minute sustained windspeeds of 100 km/h (65 mph), while the JTWC reported peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 110 km/h (70 mph).
As Vania moved out of the Vanuatuan archipelago, the system moved towards the south before re-curving and moving towards the northwest. Throughout November 16, the cyclone became sheared and started to weaken quickly, before the JTWC issued their final advisory the next day as Vania weakened into a tropical depression late the next day. Early on November 18, TCWC Nadi issued their final advisory as Vania dissipated to the north of New Caledonia. Only minor damage to crops and bush houses was reported to have occurred in the archipelago while no deaths were reported. As a result of Vania affecting parts of Vanuatu during November 15, voting in provincial elections had to be extended by 24 hours.
Tropical Depression 04P
On December 13, the US Navy started to monitor an area of disturbed weather that was located about 720 km (480 mi), to the east 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...
in 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...
. During that day, TCWC Nadi started to monitor the system as a tropical depression as the system moved southeast towards Fiji. Over the next couple of days, the depression continued to move southeast towards Fiji and gradually developed further. On December 15, the NPMOC initiated advisories on the depression and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 04P, while it was located about 110 km (70 mi) to the northeast of Labasa, Fiji. Later that day, the NPMOC reported that the system had become a tropical storm and reached its peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 65 km/h (40 mph), as it affected several Fijian islands
Geography of Fiji
]Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, lying about 4,450 km southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km north of New Zealand. Of the 322 islands and 522 smaller islets making up the archipelago, about 106 are permanently inhabited...
including Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu , formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located 64 kilometres to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of 5,587.1 km² and a population of some 130,000.- Geography :...
and Thikombia
Geography of Fiji
]Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, lying about 4,450 km southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km north of New Zealand. Of the 322 islands and 522 smaller islets making up the archipelago, about 106 are permanently inhabited...
. During December 16, the cyclone continued to move towards the southeast and started to affect 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...
before the NPMOC issued their final warning on the system as it had weakened into a tropical depression. During the next day, the depression moved into TCWC Wellingtons area of responsibility and was subsequently declared extratropical.
Tropical Cyclone William
On December 30, TCWC Nadi reported that a tropical depression had developed about 860 km (535 mi), to the northeast of Pago Pago in American SamoaAmerican Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
. During the next day, as the depression moved to the southeast it gradually developed further, before the NPMOC designated the depression as Tropical Cyclone 05P. TCWC Nadi then reported early on January 1, that the depression had developed into a category one tropical cyclone. However they did not name it as William, until later that day. Throughout January 1, the system continued to intensify, as it moved towards the southeast. TCWC Nadi then reported early the next day, that William had become a category two tropical cyclone as it passed near to the Southern Cook Islands while the NPMOC reported that William, had reached its peak 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 120 km/h (75 mph). During that day, William accelerated towards the southeast, before TCWC Nadi reported that William had reached its peak 10-minute windspeeds of 110 km/h (70 mph) while affecting parts of French Polynesia.
During January 3, William continued to move rapidly into the Southeastern Pacific Ocean and started to transition into an extratropical cyclone as it approached TCWC Wellingtons area of responsibility. As William moved into TCWC Wellingtons area of responsibility, the NPMOC issued their final advisory on William as it became an extratropical cyclone. Williams remnants were then tracked by TCWC Wellington until January 5 as they continued to move towards the east and out of the South Pacific basin. Within the Cook Islands, William destroyed a causeway to a tourist resort on Aitutaki, and caused damage to houses, crops and coconut trees with the total cost estimated at US$ . William injured two people and destroyed over 150 houses in French Polynesia, where local leaders accused Météo-France off underestimating Williams intensity.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Violet
At 0000 UTC, (1200 FST), on March 6, TCWC Brisbane and the JTWC reported that Severe Tropical Cyclone Violet, had moved into the basin from the Australian region about 700 km (430 mi) to the southwest of Noumea, New Caledonia. However by 1200 UTC, Violet had recurved and moved back into the Australian region. While the system was located in the basin, both the JTWC and TCWC Brisbane reported that Violet had peak windspeeds of 130 km/h (80 mph). TCWC Brisbane also reported that Violet had a minimum pressure of 965 hPa (28.49 inHg), which made it the strongest tropical cyclone of the season in the South Pacific basin despite being in the basin for less than 18 hours.Tropical Depression 18P
On March 15, the US Navy started to monitor an area of disturbed weather, that had developed about 245 km (150 mi) to the northeast of Nadi, Fiji. During that day the depression moved towards the southeast and gradually developed further while moving around the south coast of Viti Levu. During the next day, the NPMOC initiated advisories on the area of disturbed weather and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 18P, with 1-minute sustained windspeeds of 55 km/h (35 mph). During the following day as the depression did not intensify any further as it continued to move towards the southeast. The NPMOC then issued their final advisory on the system later that day, as the depression dissipated about 960 km (600 mi) to the southeast of Nuku'alofa, Tonga.Season effects
This table lists all the storms that developed in the South Pacific basin during the 1994–95 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 04P and 18P have been taken from the JTWC archives as opposed to TCWC Nadi and Wellington's, and thus the winds are over 1-minute as opposed to 10-minutes.|-
| 01P || Vania || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Vanuatu || Minimal || None ||
|-
| 04P || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Fiji, Tonga || Unknown || Unknown ||
|-
| 05P || William || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Cook Islands, French Polynesia || 2,500,000 || None ||
|-
| 14P || Violet || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
|-
| 18P || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=| || None || None || None ||
|-class="sortbottom"
!colspan=10|Season Aggregates
|-class="sortbottom"
!colspan=2| 5 depressions !! November 23 – March 17 !! !! 130 km/h (80 mph) !! 965 hPa (28.50 inHg) !! !! 2,500,000 !! !!
|}
See also
- List of Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons
- List of South Pacific cyclone seasons
- Atlantic hurricane seasons: 19941994 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1994 Atlantic hurricane seasonofficially began June 1, 1994, and officially ended November 30, 1994. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin....
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, 19951995 Pacific typhoon season-Typhoon Faye:On July 19, Tropical Storm Faye became the first typhoon of the season, tied for the second latest date of the first typhoon with 1977, only behind Otto of 1998. It tracked northwestward and reached a peak of 120 mph winds 2 days later. Faye turned northward, and after... - North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 19941994 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 1994 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was the period in which tropical cyclones formed within the north Indian ocean. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form within this basin between April and December. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean — the Bay of...
, 19951995 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 1995 North Indian Ocean cyclone season had no bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.-Season summary:Four tropical...