1989–90 South Pacific cyclone season

1989–90 South Pacific cyclone season
First storm formed November 23, 1990
Last storm dissipated May 19, 1991
Strongest storm Sina – 965 hPa (mbar), 140 km/h (85 mph) (10-minute sustained)
Total depressions 5
Tropical cyclones 3
Severe tropical cyclones 1
Total fatalities None reported
Total damage $18.5 million (1990 USD)
South Pacific cyclone seasons
1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92
Related articles

The 1989–90 South Pacific cyclone season was a below-average season with only five tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific to the east of 160°E.[A 1] The season officially ran from November 1, 1989, to April 30, 1990 with the first disturbance of the season forming on November 8 and the last disturbance dissipating on March 19.[A 2] This is the period of the year when most tropical cyclones form within the South Pacific Ocean.[1]

During the season at least 15 people were killed from tropical disturbances whilst overall damage was estimated at $196 million (1990 USD; $303 million 2012 USD). The most damaging tropical disturbance was Cyclone Ofa, one of the strongest storms to affect Samoa in the 20th century, which caused at least $180 million (1990 USD; $303 million 2012 USD) in damage to multiple countries and left eight dead.[2] Cyclone Felicity caused minor damage when it made landfall in the Cape York Peninsula of Australia.[3] Cyclone Nancy caused $14 million (1990 USD; $23.5 million 2012 USD) in damages to Queensland, Australia and killed four people.[2] During the formative stages of Cyclone Peni, the system caused $1 million (1990 USD; $1.68 million 2012 USD) in damages to the Cook Islands.[2] Cyclone Rae drowned three people in Fiji but caused only $1 million (1990 USD; $1.68 million 2012 USD) of damages to crops and vegetation.[2] As a result of the impacts caused by Ofa and Peni, the names were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists.[1]

Within the South Pacific, tropical cyclones were monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) in Nadi, Fiji, and in Wellington, New Zealand. Whilst tropical cyclones that moved to the west of 160°E were monitored as a part of the Australian region by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. 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 180° meridian whilst the NWOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between the 180° meridian and the coasts of the Americas. Both warning centres 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.

This timeline includes information from post-storm reviews by TCWC Nadi, TCWC Wellington and the JTWC. It documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season. Reports among warning centers often differ; as such, information from all three agencies has been included.

Contents

Seasonal summary


Storms

Tropical Depression Felicity

Tropical depression (Australian scale)
Duration December 19 – December 22
Intensity 75 km/h (45 mph) (10-min),  990 mbar (hPa)

On December 19, TCWC Nadi reported that the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Felicity, had moved into the basin with 10-minute peak windspeeds of 75 km/h (45 mph). However rather than treat it as a category one tropical cyclone, TCWC Nadi treated it as a tropical depression because the system did not have the "classical characteristics of a tropical cyclone."[4] During that day, the depression accelerated towards the southeast and entered TCWC Wellington's area of responsibility during the next day, while it was weakening in response to a declining upper level trough of low pressure. As it continued to move towards the southeast, Felicity passed about 85 km (50 mi) to the southeast of Norfolk Island on December 21 shortly before being absorbed by a short wave trough of low pressure.

Tropical Cyclone Nancy

Category 2 tropical cyclone (Australian scale)
Category 1 tropical cyclone (SSHS)
Duration January 27 – February 8
Intensity 100 km/h (65 mph) (10-min),  975 mbar (hPa)

Severe Tropical Cyclone Ofa

Category 4 severe tropical cyclone (Australian scale)
Category 4 tropical cyclone (SSHS)
Duration January 28 – February 10
Intensity 185 km/h (115 mph) (10-min),  925 mbar (hPa)

Severe Tropical Cyclone Peni

Category 3 severe tropical cyclone (Australian scale)
Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration February 12 – February 18
Intensity 120 km/h (75 mph) (10-min),  970 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Cyclone Hilda

Category 2 tropical cyclone (Australian scale)
Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration March 7 – March 9
Intensity 95 km/h (60 mph) (10-min),  985 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Depression Ivor

Tropical depression (Australian scale)
Duration March – March
Intensity 45 km/h (30 mph) (10-min),  Unknown

Tropical Cyclone Rae

Category 2 tropical cyclone (Australian scale)
Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration March 16 – March 25
Intensity 95 km/h (60 mph) (10-min),  985 mbar (hPa)

Season effects

This table lists all the storms that developed in the South Pacific basin during the 1989–90 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 Brisbane and Wellington's archives, however data for P has been taken from the United States Navy's archives, and thus the winds are over 1-minute as opposed to 10-minutes. All areas affected listed were while the systems were in this basin.

Storm
Name		 Dates active Storm category
at peak intensity		 Peak 10-min
sustained winds		 Pressure Areas affected Damage
(USD)		 Deaths Refs
None November 8–10 Depression Unknown Unknown Southern Cook Islands Unknown Unknown [5]
None December 14–17 Tropical Depression Unknown Unknown Samoan Islands Unknown Unknown [6]
Felicity December 19–22 Tropical Depression 75 km/h (45 mph) 990 hPa (29.24 inHg) Norfolk Island
None January 20-25 Tropical Depression Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown [7]
Nancy January 30 – February 8
Ofa January 30 – February 10
None February 6-9 Tropical Depression Unknown Unknown Samoa, Niue Unknown Unknown [8]
Peni February 12 – 18
Hilda March 7 – 9
Ivor March 14 – 16
Rae March 16 – 25 Category 2 tropical cyclone 95 km/h (60 mph) 985 hPa (29.10 inHg)

Notes

  1. ^ An average season has nine tropical cyclones, about half of which become severe tropical cyclones.
  2. ^ TCWC Nadi warned on systems in the South Pacific which is 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

References

  1. ^ a b "Tropical Cyclone Operational Plan for the South Pacific and South-East Indian Ocean (2008 Edition)". World Meteorological Organization. http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1242952602408859. Retrieved 2010-05-26. 
  2. ^ a b c d S. Ready, F. Woodcock (1992). "The South Pacific and Southeast Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone Season 1989–1990". Australian Meteorological Magazine (Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)) 40: 111–121. http://www.bom.gov.au/amm/docs/1992/ready.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  3. ^ "Tropical Cyclone Felicity Report". Bureau of Meteorology (Australia). http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/felicity.shtml. Retrieved 2010-06-15. 
  4. ^ Unattributed (2011). "Tropical Cyclone Felicity, December 13 - 22 1989.". Brisbane Tropical Cyclone Warning Center. Bureau of Meteorology. http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/felicity.shtml. Retrieved 2011-12-27. 
  5. ^ Kumar, P. (1990). Depression near Southern Cooks. November 8-10 1989 (Meteorological event reports). 90/1. Fiji Meteorological Service. Archived from the original on 2011-12-24. http://www.webcitation.org/64BDNV7fw. Retrieved 2011-12-24. 
  6. ^ Waqaicelua, A. (1990). Tropical Depression near Southern Cooks. November 8-10 1989 (Meteorological event reports). 90/2. Fiji Meteorological Service. Archived from the original on 2011-12-24. http://www.webcitation.org/64BFPRAXf. Retrieved 2011-12-24. 
  7. ^ Waqaicelua, A. (1990). Tropical depression over Coral Sea, 20-25 January 1990 (Meteorological event reports). 90/5. Fiji Meteorological Service. Archived from the original on 2011-12-25. http://www.webcitation.org/64BQo4hRz. Retrieved 2011-12-25. 
  8. ^ Koop, N. (1990). Tropical depression near Samoa and Niue, February 6-9 1990 (Meteorological event reports). 90/4. Fiji Meteorological Service. Archived from the original on 2011-12-25. http://www.webcitation.org/64BQwPLll. Retrieved 2011-12-25. 

External links