2008-09 South Pacific cyclone season
Encyclopedia
The 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season began on December 1, 2008 with the formation of Tropical Disturbance 01F. This was 30 days after the season had officially begun on November 1, 2008. The season officially ended on April 30, 2009. Tropical cyclones that were between 160°E
and 120°W
and north of 25°S
were monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service
. Those that moved south of 25°S
were monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (TCWC) in Wellington, New Zealand
.
During the season, there were 15 Tropical Disturbances with 12 of them intensifying into Tropical Depressions, which were monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
in Nadi, Fiji, which is a part of the Fiji Meteorological Service
. Only five of the Tropical Depressions intensified into Tropical Cyclones which were named Hettie
, Innis
, Joni, Ken, and Lin
. Both Cyclone Innis and Cyclone Hettie had peak wind speeds of 75 km/h (45 mph) which made them Category One cyclones on the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, whilst Cyclone Ken had wind speeds of 95 km/h (60 mph). Cyclones Joni and Lin had peak wind speeds of 100 km/h (65 mph) and 110 km/h, (70 mph) respectively which made them Category 2 cyclones. Cyclone Jasper also moved into the region from the Australian basin at its peak wind speeds of 100 km/h (65 mph) which made it a Category Two cyclone. For the first time since the 1994-95 tropical cyclone season there were no tropical cyclones that developed into a Severe Tropical Cyclone, which have winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph).
On September 26, the New Zealand
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
(NIWA) issued a seasonal forecast for the whole of the southern Pacific Ocean
to the east of 135°E
. They predicted that the 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season would see an average risk of cyclones forming, which they said would mean that 8–10 tropical cyclones with wind speeds greater than 35 knots would form east of 150°E
. Niwa then issued a revised forecast on January 9 as a weak La Nina had formed, predicting that there would be six to seven cyclones forming in the whole of the Southern Pacific. They also predicted that there would be a higher risk of Tropical cyclones forming to the west of the International dateline.
In October 2008, the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center
in Nadi, Fiji, released their 2008–09 Seasonal Outlook. Within their seasonal outlook the RSMC stated that the 2008–09 season would start under Neutral conditions meaning that there is no La Niña
or El Niño Conditions. They also stated that this was expected to last for the majority of the cyclone season. RSMC Nadi also predicted that there would be nine cyclones forming in the 2008–09 season which was an average amount of Cyclones with half of them becoming Severe Tropical Cyclones. During January 2009, as there had been no Tropical cyclones in the South Pacific within the first two months of the season and a weak La Nina had formed during December, RSMC Nadi suggested that there was a slight possibility that there would be less activity than previously predicted. The Fiji Meteorological service then reported in their March 2009 Climate Outlook for the Fiji Islands that Tropical cyclone activity was now expected to be below average within the whole of the South Pacific however, this proved inaccurate as an average number of storms formed within the whole of the southern Pacific.
intensifying into one to the west of 160E.
Notable Tropical depressions include Tropical Depression 04F
, which caused Fiji
's second worst natural disasters. Tropical Depression 08F
, which intensified into Cyclone Hettie becoming the first tropical cyclone to form this season. Tropical Depression 10F brought heavy rains to Vanuatu and before making landfall on New Caledonia intensified into Category One Tropical Cyclone Innis. After it made landfall Innis became the first Tropical Depression to move into TCWC Brisbane's Area of responsibility since Cyclone Larry
. Cyclones Joni and Ken both threatened the Southern Cook Islands however the only impact they had was minimal. Cyclone Jasper then moved into the region early on March 24 at peak intensity, having developed inside TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility two days earlier. The final Tropical Depression this year to develop was Tropical Cyclone Lin near to the Lau Group of Fiji and Tonga.
Floods and mudslides caused by the depression killed at least eleven people in Fiji. Several towns and rural areas on Viti Levu
were flooded.
and was just inside TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility, and started issuing Tropical Disturbance Summaries on it. As the depression moved into RSMC Nadi’s area of responsibility it was designated as 05F. Nadi reported at this time that whilst the depression had a low to moderate chance of forming into a tropical cyclone within 48 hours, there was an upper trough
of low pressure that could provide an opportunity for the depression to either rapidly or explosively develop. Despite fair conditions, it dissipated without ever becoming a cyclone.
, in French Polynesia
. Convection was confined to the northeast of the low level circulation and was disorganised. Late the next day whilst the disturbance was moving to the east and into an area of higher vertical wind shear, RSMC Nadi upgraded the disturbance to a tropical depression despite its low level circulation centre being exposed and lying to the west of the deep convection. During the next morning as it interacted with another disturbance to the northwest the depression reached its peak wind speeds of 55 km/h, (35 mph) Over the next couple of days th depression moved towards the south before late on January 23 RSMC Nadi issued their final advisory on the depression as it was expected to become a hybird system within 24 hours.
. Later that day as the Depression moved towards the east they downgraded the Depression to a Tropical Disturbance as the Low Level Circulation Center was exposed and located in an environment of moderate to strong vertical wind shear. During the morning of January 24 the Tropical Disturbance was reupgraded to a Tropical Depression and assigned the Tropical Depression the designation of 07F. Later that day the tropical depression reached its peak wind speeds of 65 km/h (40 mph). Early the next day RSMC Nadi released their final Tropical Disturbance Summary as the Tropical Depression had lost all tropical characteristics.
, it was designated as Tropical Depression 08F. Early on January 27, a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
was released by the JTWC, as the depression had a well-defined, but wide low level circulation center. The Depression was upgraded to a Tropical Cyclone the next day when it was named as Hettie by RSMC Nadi whilst the JTWC designated Hettie as Tropical Cyclone 11P. At this time, Hettie was moving towards the southeast in between Fiji and Tonga and did not intensify any further and was downgraded to a Depression the next day. Over the next couple of days, it moved slowly towards the southeast and weakened before being downgraded to an area of low pressure late on January 31. There was very minimal damage from Cyclone Hettie on Rotuma
and in Tonga
with 55.8MM of rainfall falling on Rotuma during January 24 and January 25. There were no deaths reported within Fiji
or Tonga
.
was then issued by the JTWC, the following day as the disturbance had a well-defined low level circulation center however RSMC Nadi, did not start to issue advisories on the Tropical disturbance until later that day designating it as Tropical Depression 11F. On March 11 the Tropical Depression continued to intensify and was upgraded to a Tropical Cyclone by RSMC Nadi and the JTWC with RSMC Nadi assigning the name Joni to the storm. The next day both RSMC Nadi and the JTWC reported that Joni had reached its peak windspeeds of 100 km/h (65 mph), which made it a Category Two Cyclone. As Cyclone Joni reached its peak windspeeds RSMC Nadi passed primary warning responsibility of Cyclone Joni to TCWC Wellington who downgraded it to an extratropical low early on March 14. The final warning on Cyclone Joni was then issued by TCWC Wellington early the next day. There was only minimal impact reported in the southern Cook Islands with reports of heavy rainfall on Mangaia Island.
which was located to the east of Palmerston Island
, in the Cook Islands
. Early that afternoon the JTWC reported that the disturbances low level circulation centre
had rapidly consolidated and issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
on the developing system. Later that day, RSMC Nadi reported that the disturbance had organised enough to be classified as Tropical Depression 12F. Early the next morning, as the depression was moving towards the southeast, RSMC Nadi reported that outflow
was good to the south of the depression and upgraded it to a Category 1 Cyclone, assigning the name Ken to the cyclone. Later that day, the JTWC started to issue advisories on the storm and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 21P.
Late on March 18, RSMC Nadi reported that Ken had reached its peak intensity with winds of 95 km/h, (60 mph), which made it a Category 2 Cyclone. RSMC Nadi then passed primary warning responsibility of Cyclone Ken to TCWC Wellington who, downgraded Ken to a Category 1 Cyclone early the next day. Ken then re-intensified into a Category 2 Cyclone later that day; however it was quickly downgraded to a Category 1 Cyclone within their next advisory and then was declared extratropical
by both TCWC Wellington and the JTWC early on March 20. As an extratropical cyclone, Ken reached 1-minute windspeeds of 110 km/h (70 mph). TCWC Wellington then issued their final advisory early on March 22, as it moved out of their eastern area of responsibility and was tracked by the Bureau of Meteorology
for three more days as it crossed the Antarctic Peninsula
into the Weddell Sea
.
, it moved northwest and degenerated to a remnant low. The remnant low of Jasper later returned the South Pacific as a very weak low.
Flooding, triggered by heavy rains in northern New Caledonia, forced the evacuation of 25 families. Rough seas produced by the storm caused beach erosion along the coastlines of New Caledonia. High winds caused localized structural damage and knocked down a few power lines, leaving some residents without power.
. Over the next few days, the depression moved towards the southeast through the Fijian archipelago until late on April 3, when RSMC Nadi reported that the depression had intensified into a category one cyclone, and named it as Cyclone Lin. The JTWC did not start issuing warnings on Lin until the next day when they designated it as Cyclone 25P while it was approaching its 10-minute peak windspeeds of 110 km/h (65 mph) and 1-minute peak windspeeds of 95 km/h (60 mph). Cyclone Lin then reached its peak windspeeds early on April 5 as it passed directly over Tonga and then later that day as it approached the edge of RSMC Nadi's area of responsibility Lin started to go through an extratropical transition with the JTWC issuing their last advisory on it. As it crossed into TCWC Wellington's area of responsibility the Cyclone was declared extratropical, however TCWC Wellington kept issuing warnings on Lin until late on April 8.
In Tonga initial reports suggested that only vegetation had been impacted. However, it was later reported that power lines had been knocked down by high winds and the heavy rains triggered minor flooding in Nuku'alofa. Power stations in Tongatapu were also forced to close to protect the system. No one was injured by the storm but there were reports of significant crop losses. The Tongan Meteorological Service also reported that about $2000 TOP 2009, ($1000 USD 2009) worth of damage had been done to property owned by the service.
moving through the system on April 9, the disturbance remained poorly defined with the JTWC reporting that it had dissipated early the next day before RSMC Nadi issued their last advisory early on April 11 as the disturbance moved into TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility and was re-designated as Tropical Low 22U. Over the next couple of days the disturbance remained weak as it moved towards the southern tip of Papua New Guinea.
during the 2008–2009 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian Tropical cyclone intensity scale, duration, name, landfalls, deaths, and damages. All data is taken from RSMC Nadi and or TCWC Wellington. The Damage figures are all 2009 USD.
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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....
and north of 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...
were monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service
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...
. Those that moved south of 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...
were monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (TCWC) in Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
During the season, there were 15 Tropical Disturbances with 12 of them intensifying into Tropical Depressions, which were monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
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...
in Nadi, Fiji, which is a part of the Fiji Meteorological Service
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...
. Only five of the Tropical Depressions intensified into Tropical Cyclones which were named Hettie
Cyclone Hettie (2009)
Tropical Cyclone Hettie was the first named tropical cyclone in the South Pacific since Cyclone Gene of 2008. Late on January 24, the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in Nadi, Fiji, reported that a weak tropical disturbance had formed within a monsoon trough, to the north of the...
, Innis
Cyclone Innis (2009)
Cyclone Innis was a tropical cyclone which formed as Tropical Disturbance 10F to the east of Fiji on February 13, 2009. As it moved east, the disturbance was designated as a tropical depression late the next day by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in Nadi, Fiji...
, Joni, Ken, and Lin
Cyclone Lin (2009)
Tropical Cyclone Lin formed on March 31 as a tropical depression within a monsoon trough to the northwest of Fiji...
. Both Cyclone Innis and Cyclone Hettie had peak wind speeds of 75 km/h (45 mph) which made them Category One cyclones on the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, whilst Cyclone Ken had wind speeds of 95 km/h (60 mph). Cyclones Joni and Lin had peak wind speeds of 100 km/h (65 mph) and 110 km/h, (70 mph) respectively which made them Category 2 cyclones. Cyclone Jasper also moved into the region from the Australian basin at its peak wind speeds of 100 km/h (65 mph) which made it a Category Two cyclone. For the first time since the 1994-95 tropical cyclone season there were no tropical cyclones that developed into a Severe Tropical Cyclone, which have winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph).
Seasonal forecasts
| Source | Date | font style="font-size: 80%;">TC Tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor... |
font style="font-size: 80%;">STC |
| i>Average (1970–71 – 2007–08) | 9 | 4.5 | |
| Record high activity | 17 | 7 | |
| Record low activity | 3 | 0 | |
| –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– | |||
| NIWA National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA , is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts commercial and non-commercial research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences... |
September 26, 2008 | 8–10 | N/A |
| FMS 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... |
October 23, 2008 | 9 | 4.5 |
| NIWA National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA , is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts commercial and non-commercial research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences... |
January 9, 2009 | 6–7 | N/A |
| –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– | |||
| Actual activity | 7 | 0 | |
On September 26, the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA , is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts commercial and non-commercial research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences...
(NIWA) issued a seasonal forecast for the whole of the southern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to the east of 135°E
135th meridian east
The meridian 135° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. They predicted that the 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season would see an average risk of cyclones forming, which they said would mean that 8–10 tropical cyclones with wind speeds greater than 35 knots would form east of 150°E
150th meridian east
The meridian 150° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. Niwa then issued a revised forecast on January 9 as a weak La Nina had formed, predicting that there would be six to seven cyclones forming in the whole of the Southern Pacific. They also predicted that there would be a higher risk of Tropical cyclones forming to the west of the International dateline.
In October 2008, 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...
in Nadi, Fiji, released their 2008–09 Seasonal Outlook. Within their seasonal outlook the RSMC stated that the 2008–09 season would start under Neutral conditions meaning that there is no La Niña
La Niña
La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C...
or El Niño Conditions. They also stated that this was expected to last for the majority of the cyclone season. RSMC Nadi also predicted that there would be nine cyclones forming in the 2008–09 season which was an average amount of Cyclones with half of them becoming Severe Tropical Cyclones. During January 2009, as there had been no Tropical cyclones in the South Pacific within the first two months of the season and a weak La Nina had formed during December, RSMC Nadi suggested that there was a slight possibility that there would be less activity than previously predicted. The Fiji Meteorological service then reported in their March 2009 Climate Outlook for the Fiji Islands that Tropical cyclone activity was now expected to be below average within the whole of the South Pacific however, this proved inaccurate as an average number of storms formed within the whole of the southern Pacific.
Season summary
During the 2008–09 season, fifteen Tropical disturbances passed through RSMC Nadi's area of responsibility. Of these fifteen disturbances only eleven developed into Tropical Depressions, with a further five becoming Tropical cyclones within RSMC Nadi's area of responsibility with a further three cyclones forming within the Coral sea. No Tropical Cyclone intensified into a Severe Tropical cyclones this season to the east of 160E, with only Cyclone HamishCyclone Hamish (2009)
Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish was the first Category 5 cyclone within the Australian region since Cyclone George in 2007. The seventeenth tropical low and eight named storm of the 2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Hamish developed out of an area of low pressure on 4 March near the Cape...
intensifying into one to the west of 160E.
Notable Tropical depressions include Tropical Depression 04F
Tropical Depression 04F (2009)
Tropical Depression 04F was the first tropical depression to affect Fiji since Cyclone Gene made landfall on the country during January 2008. The depression formed late on January 4, 2009 as a weak tropical disturbance near the eastern edge of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in Nadi...
, which caused 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...
's second worst natural disasters. Tropical Depression 08F
Cyclone Hettie (2009)
Tropical Cyclone Hettie was the first named tropical cyclone in the South Pacific since Cyclone Gene of 2008. Late on January 24, the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in Nadi, Fiji, reported that a weak tropical disturbance had formed within a monsoon trough, to the north of the...
, which intensified into Cyclone Hettie becoming the first tropical cyclone to form this season. Tropical Depression 10F brought heavy rains to Vanuatu and before making landfall on New Caledonia intensified into Category One Tropical Cyclone Innis. After it made landfall Innis became the first Tropical Depression to move into TCWC Brisbane's Area of responsibility since Cyclone Larry
Cyclone Larry
Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in Australia during the 2005-06 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season. Larry originated as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea on 16 March and was monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in...
. Cyclones Joni and Ken both threatened the Southern Cook Islands however the only impact they had was minimal. Cyclone Jasper then moved into the region early on March 24 at peak intensity, having developed inside TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility two days earlier. The final Tropical Depression this year to develop was Tropical Cyclone Lin near to the Lau Group of Fiji and Tonga.
Tropical Disturbance 01F
Ealry on December 1, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 01F had formed about 750 km, (465 mi) to the north-east of Apia, American Samoa. Convection around the disturbance had been present for 24 hours, and had helped to develop a well-defined low level circulation center. The disturbance lied within an area of moderate vertical wind shear as well as a trough of low pressure. Over the next couple of days, the disturbance moved slowly towards the west before it was downgraded to an area of low pressure early on December 3.Tropical Depression 02F
Early on December 3, RSMC Nadi reported that a Tropical Disturbance had formed near the Southern Cook Islands and was located in a moderately sheared environment and was moving towards the southeast. Deep Convection had been present around a well-defined cyclonic circulation for the previous 24 hours. Over the next day the disturbance gradually developed with RSMC Nadi upgrading it to a Tropical Depression later that day whilst it was moving between Niue and the Southern Cook Islands. Over the next couple of days the depression gradually weakened with convection which was located in the southern and eastern quadrants became sheared and the low level circulation centre became exposed as it moved into an area of cooler sea surface temperatures. Late on December 6 RSMC Nadi issued their final advisory on the depression as it moved into TCWC Wellingtons area of responsibility and was expected to become a mid latituted low pressure system within 12 hours.Tropical Disturbance 03F
Late on December 10, RSMC Nadi reported that a Tropical disturbance had formed near to the western edge of their area of responsibility. The disturbance had no definite low level circulation center with convection confined to the north quadrant of the disturbance. The disturbance lied to the west of an upperlevel anticyclone and was located in an area of moderately sheared environment. Early the next day, RSMC Nadi issued their final advisory on the disturbance as it was difficult to locate the low level circulation center as there seemed to be a more dominant cyclonic circulation to the northwest of 03F which they reported might have engulfed the system.Tropical Depression 04F
Tropical Depression 04F formed late on January 4, as a weak tropical disturbance near to the eastern edge of RSMC Nadi's responsibility. The disturbance then rapidly organised itself sufficiently to be classified as Tropical Depression 04F early the next morning. Over the next couple of days the depression moved towards the southeast, before on January 8 as it started to bring heavy rainfall to Fiji. RSMC Nadi then issued their final advisory on it later that day, as it was now an extratropical depression. However late the next day RSMC Nadi started to reissue advisories on the depression and immediately passed primary warning responsibility for it to the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Wellington, who issued warnings on the depression until early on January 12 when they issued their last advisory.Floods and mudslides caused by the depression killed at least eleven people in Fiji. Several towns and rural areas on Viti Levu
Viti Levu
Viti Levu is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji, the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.- Geography and economy :...
were flooded.
Tropical Depression 05F
On January 11, RSMC Nadi reported that a tropical depression had formed to the south of the Solomon IslandsSolomon 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...
and was just inside TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility, and started issuing Tropical Disturbance Summaries on it. As the depression moved into RSMC Nadi’s area of responsibility it was designated as 05F. Nadi reported at this time that whilst the depression had a low to moderate chance of forming into a tropical cyclone within 48 hours, there was an upper trough
Trough (meteorology)
A trough is an elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, often associated with fronts.Unlike fronts, there is not a universal symbol for a trough on a weather chart. The weather charts in some countries or regions mark troughs by a line. In the United States, a trough may be marked...
of low pressure that could provide an opportunity for the depression to either rapidly or explosively develop. Despite fair conditions, it dissipated without ever becoming a cyclone.
Tropical Depression 06F
Late on January 19, RSMC Nadi reported that a tropical disturbance had formed in a monsoonal trough of low pressure about 940 km to the north west of PapeetePapeete
-Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront esplanade*Bougainville Park -Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront...
, in 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...
. Convection was confined to the northeast of the low level circulation and was disorganised. Late the next day whilst the disturbance was moving to the east and into an area of higher vertical wind shear, RSMC Nadi upgraded the disturbance to a tropical depression despite its low level circulation centre being exposed and lying to the west of the deep convection. During the next morning as it interacted with another disturbance to the northwest the depression reached its peak wind speeds of 55 km/h, (35 mph) Over the next couple of days th depression moved towards the south before late on January 23 RSMC Nadi issued their final advisory on the depression as it was expected to become a hybird system within 24 hours.
Tropical Depression 07F
On January 23, RSMC Nadi reported that a Tropical Depression had formed, to the southwest of 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...
. Later that day as the Depression moved towards the east they downgraded the Depression to a Tropical Disturbance as the Low Level Circulation Center was exposed and located in an environment of moderate to strong vertical wind shear. During the morning of January 24 the Tropical Disturbance was reupgraded to a Tropical Depression and assigned the Tropical Depression the designation of 07F. Later that day the tropical depression reached its peak wind speeds of 65 km/h (40 mph). Early the next day RSMC Nadi released their final Tropical Disturbance Summary as the Tropical Depression had lost all tropical characteristics.
Tropical Cyclone Hettie
Late on January 24, RSMC Nadi reported that a weak low pressure area had formed within a monsoon trough to the north of the Fijian dependency of Rotuma. The next day after the disturbance had made landfall on RotumaRotuma
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a small but unique indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognizable minority within the population of Fiji, known as "Rotumans"...
, it was designated as Tropical Depression 08F. Early on January 27, a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
was released by the JTWC, as the depression had a well-defined, but wide low level circulation center. The Depression was upgraded to a Tropical Cyclone the next day when it was named as Hettie by RSMC Nadi whilst the JTWC designated Hettie as Tropical Cyclone 11P. At this time, Hettie was moving towards the southeast in between Fiji and Tonga and did not intensify any further and was downgraded to a Depression the next day. Over the next couple of days, it moved slowly towards the southeast and weakened before being downgraded to an area of low pressure late on January 31. There was very minimal damage from Cyclone Hettie on Rotuma
Rotuma
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a small but unique indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognizable minority within the population of Fiji, known as "Rotumans"...
and in 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...
with 55.8MM of rainfall falling on Rotuma during January 24 and January 25. There were no deaths reported within 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...
or 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...
.
Tropical Depression 09F
Late on February 1, a Tropical disturbance formed about 645 km (400.8 mi) to the west of Vanuatu and was embedded in a monsoonal trough. It quickly organized itself and thus later that day, it was upgraded to Tropical Depression 09F. At this time the Low Level Circulation Center was exposed as strong vertical wind shear and deep convection was displaced to the north of Low Level Circulation Center. The next morning the JTWC reported that deep convection, was located over the western boundary, of the depression's low level circulation center. Strong shear also still existed over the system, with deep convection still being displaced to the north of the system. The next morning RSMC Nadi reported that the Low Level Circulation Center was obscured with indications of good inflow bands flowing into the depression from the north and west. The depression was not in a favorable environment and it later dissipated on the 7th.Tropical Cyclone Innis
Cyclone Innis formed as Tropical Disturbance 10F to the east of Fiji on February 13, as it moved towards the southeast, the disturbance was designated as a tropical depression late the next day by RSMC Nadi. A tropical cyclone formation alert was then issued on February 15 by the JTWC, as the depression moved towards Vanuatu and continued to organise itself. Vanautu then suffered a direct hit from the depression early the next day before it was upgraded to a cyclone and named Innis, early on February 17 as it moved across New Caledonia. Innis then quickly reached its peak intensity with winds of 75 km/h (45 mph), which made it a category one cyclone. This came as RSMC Nadi transferred primary warning responsibility of Cyclone Innis, to the TCWC Wellington, who within their first advisory downgraded it to an extratropical low. The extra tropical remnants of Innis briefly moved into the Australian region and were designated as a Tropical Low by TCWC Brisbane. Cyclone Innis was then absorbed by a trough of low pressure which brought heavy rain to New Zealand during February 20. There were no deaths reported by Cyclone Innis and little impact was reported from the storm in Vanautu or New Caledonia.Tropical Cyclone Joni
A weak tropical disturbance formed late on March 9, about 770 km (478.5 mi) west of Tahiti. A Tropical Cyclone Formation AlertTropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
was then issued by the JTWC, the following day as the disturbance had a well-defined low level circulation center however RSMC Nadi, did not start to issue advisories on the Tropical disturbance until later that day designating it as Tropical Depression 11F. On March 11 the Tropical Depression continued to intensify and was upgraded to a Tropical Cyclone by RSMC Nadi and the JTWC with RSMC Nadi assigning the name Joni to the storm. The next day both RSMC Nadi and the JTWC reported that Joni had reached its peak windspeeds of 100 km/h (65 mph), which made it a Category Two Cyclone. As Cyclone Joni reached its peak windspeeds RSMC Nadi passed primary warning responsibility of Cyclone Joni to TCWC Wellington who downgraded it to an extratropical low early on March 14. The final warning on Cyclone Joni was then issued by TCWC Wellington early the next day. There was only minimal impact reported in the southern Cook Islands with reports of heavy rainfall on Mangaia Island.
Tropical Cyclone Ken
Early on March 16, a tropical disturbance formed to the south of a convergence zoneSouth 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...
which was located to the east of Palmerston Island
Palmerston Island
Palmerston Island is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean about 500 km northwest of Rarotonga. It was discovered by James Cook on 16 June 1774.-Overview:...
, in 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...
. Early that afternoon the JTWC reported that the disturbances low level circulation centre
Low pressure area
A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...
had rapidly consolidated and issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
on the developing system. Later that day, RSMC Nadi reported that the disturbance had organised enough to be classified as Tropical Depression 12F. Early the next morning, as the depression was moving towards the southeast, RSMC Nadi reported that outflow
Outflow (meteorology)
Outflow, in meteorology, is air that flows outwards from a storm system. It is associated with ridging, or anticyclonic flow. In the low levels of the troposphere, outflow radiates from thunderstorms in the form of a wedge of rain-cooled air, which is visible as a thin rope-like cloud on weather...
was good to the south of the depression and upgraded it to a Category 1 Cyclone, assigning the name Ken to the cyclone. Later that day, the JTWC started to issue advisories on the storm and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 21P.
Late on March 18, RSMC Nadi reported that Ken had reached its peak intensity with winds of 95 km/h, (60 mph), which made it a Category 2 Cyclone. RSMC Nadi then passed primary warning responsibility of Cyclone Ken to TCWC Wellington who, downgraded Ken to a Category 1 Cyclone early the next day. Ken then re-intensified into a Category 2 Cyclone later that day; however it was quickly downgraded to a Category 1 Cyclone within their next advisory and then was declared extratropical
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...
by both TCWC Wellington and the JTWC early on March 20. As an extratropical cyclone, Ken reached 1-minute windspeeds of 110 km/h (70 mph). TCWC Wellington then issued their final advisory early on March 22, as it moved out of their eastern area of responsibility and was tracked by the Bureau of Meteorology
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...
for three more days as it crossed the Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....
into the Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
.
Tropical Cyclone Jasper
Early on March 24, Cyclone Jasper moved into the South Pacific, from the Australian region, as a Category 2 Cyclone with windspeeds of 95 km/h (60 mph), it weakened unexpectedly and rapidly after it moved into the area, while it was nearing New CaledoniaNew 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...
, it moved northwest and degenerated to a remnant low. The remnant low of Jasper later returned the South Pacific as a very weak low.
Flooding, triggered by heavy rains in northern New Caledonia, forced the evacuation of 25 families. Rough seas produced by the storm caused beach erosion along the coastlines of New Caledonia. High winds caused localized structural damage and knocked down a few power lines, leaving some residents without power.
Tropical Cyclone Lin
Cyclone Lin formed as a tropical depression within a monsoonal trough to the northwest of 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...
. Over the next few days, the depression moved towards the southeast through the Fijian archipelago until late on April 3, when RSMC Nadi reported that the depression had intensified into a category one cyclone, and named it as Cyclone Lin. The JTWC did not start issuing warnings on Lin until the next day when they designated it as Cyclone 25P while it was approaching its 10-minute peak windspeeds of 110 km/h (65 mph) and 1-minute peak windspeeds of 95 km/h (60 mph). Cyclone Lin then reached its peak windspeeds early on April 5 as it passed directly over Tonga and then later that day as it approached the edge of RSMC Nadi's area of responsibility Lin started to go through an extratropical transition with the JTWC issuing their last advisory on it. As it crossed into TCWC Wellington's area of responsibility the Cyclone was declared extratropical, however TCWC Wellington kept issuing warnings on Lin until late on April 8.
In Tonga initial reports suggested that only vegetation had been impacted. However, it was later reported that power lines had been knocked down by high winds and the heavy rains triggered minor flooding in Nuku'alofa. Power stations in Tongatapu were also forced to close to protect the system. No one was injured by the storm but there were reports of significant crop losses. The Tongan Meteorological Service also reported that about $2000 TOP 2009, ($1000 USD 2009) worth of damage had been done to property owned by the service.
Tropical Disturbance 15F
Late on April 7, both the JTWC and RSMC Nadi reported that a tropical disturbance had developed in a monsoon trough about 510 km (316.9 mi), to the north-east of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Deep convection was flaring over an elongated low level circulation centre which was in an area of low vertical wind shear. Early the next morning, RSMC Nadi designated it as 15F despite the disturbance remaining poorly defined. Despite a tropical waveTropical wave
Tropical waves, easterly waves, or tropical easterly waves, also known as African easterly waves in the Atlantic region, are a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which move from east to west across the tropics causing areas of...
moving through the system on April 9, the disturbance remained poorly defined with the JTWC reporting that it had dissipated early the next day before RSMC Nadi issued their last advisory early on April 11 as the disturbance moved into TCWC Brisbane's area of responsibility and was re-designated as Tropical Low 22U. Over the next couple of days the disturbance remained weak as it moved towards the southern tip of Papua New Guinea.
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 2008–2009 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian Tropical cyclone intensity scale, duration, name, landfalls, deaths, and damages. All data is taken from RSMC Nadi and or TCWC Wellington. The Damage figures are all 2009 USD.
|-
| 01F || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
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| 02F || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
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| 03F || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
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| 04F || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || Fiji || || ||
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| 05F || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || || || ||
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| 06F || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
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| 07F || None || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
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| 08F/ || Hettie || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#| || None || None || None ||
|}
See also
- List of Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons
- Atlantic hurricane seasons: 20082008 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active hurricane season with sixteen named storms formed, including eight that became hurricanes and five that became major hurricanes. The season officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of...
, 20092009 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 2009 Atlantic hurricane season was a below-average year, unlike the 2009 Pacific hurricane season, which was above average, both due to a moderate El Niño. During this year, nine tropical storms formed, the fewest since the 1997 season.An average season has ten tropical storms, six hurricanes... - Pacific hurricane seasons: 20082008 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 2008 Pacific hurricane season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started May 15, 2008 in the eastern Pacific, started on June 1, 2008 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 2008....
, 20092009 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 2009 Pacific hurricane season was an active event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation, due to a moderate El Niño, unlike the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, which was relatively quiet. The season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1 for the central... - Pacific typhoon seasons: 20082008 Pacific typhoon seasonThe 2008 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it runs year-round in 2008, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...
, 20092009 Pacific typhoon seasonThe 2009 Pacific typhoon season was the period that tropical cyclones formed in the Western Pacific Ocean. The season ran throughout the year during 2009, with most tropical cyclones forming between May and November. The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator... - North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 20082008 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 2008 North Indian cyclone season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November...
, 20092009 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November... - 2009 Tonga undersea volcanic eruption2009 Tonga undersea volcanic eruptionThe 2009 Tonga undersea volcanic eruption refers to ongoing volcanic activity that began on March 16, 2009, near the island of Hunga Tonga, approximately from the Tongan capital of Tongatapu. The volcano is in a highly active volcanic region that represents a portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire...
- 2009 Tonga earthquake