Timeline of the 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season

The 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season was a below-average season with only six tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific between 160°E and 120°W. The season officially ran from November 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009 with the first disturbance of the season forming on December 1 and the last disturbance moving out of the region on April 11.[A 1][A 2]

For the fourth season in a row tropical cyclone activity in the South Pacific was below its climatological average of nine tropical cyclones, with only six tropical cyclones occurring within the region. The most damaging tropical disturbance was Tropical Depression 04F which also was the deadliest tropical disturbance occurring during the season. The depression caused $45 million (2009 USD; $46.1 million 2012 USD) in damage and killed twelve people when it caused the worst economic natural disaster in Viti Levu since the drought of 1998.[1]

During the season tropical cyclones were monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in Nadi, Fiji, and the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) in Wellington, New Zealand. RSMC Nadi attached a number and an F suffix to tropical disturbances that formed in or moved into the South Pacific. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) also issued unofficial warnings throughout during the season, designating tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix. RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measured windspeeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC measured sustained winds over a period of one minute and uses the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.

This timeline includes information from post-storm reviews by RSMC 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

Timeline of storms


All data for the timeline graphic has been taken from RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington.

November

November 1

December

December 1
December 2
December 3
December 4
December 6
December 10
December 11

January

January 5
January 8
January 9
January 10
January 11
January 14
January 19
January 20
January 24
January 25
January 26
January 27
January 28
January 29

February

February 1
February 5
February 6
February 13
February 14
February 15
February 17
February 18

March

March 10
March 11
March 12
March 13
March 14
March 15
March 16
March 17
March 18
March 19
March 20
March 22
March 24
March 25
March 28
March 29
March 30

April

April 1
April 2
April 3
April 4
April 5
April 6
April 8
April 10
April 30

See also

Notes

  1. ^ An average season has nine tropical cyclones, about half of which become severe tropical cyclones.
  2. ^ RSMC Nadi warns 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
  3. ^ UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time.
  4. ^ FST stands for Fiji Standard Time, which is equivalent to UTC+12.
  5. ^ The figures for maximum sustained winds 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.

References

  1. ^ http://www.met.gov.fj/documents/FICSJan20091233891588.pdf
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  3. ^ Gary Padgett (2009-02-02). "Gary Padgett's Monthly Tropical Cyclone Summary: November 2008". Australian Severe Weather. http://www.australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/2009/summ0811.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-25. 
  4. ^ Staff Writer (2008-12-01). "Tropical Disturbance Summary 2008-12-01 09z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5cjxtG8il. Retrieved 2010-04-22. 
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  25. ^ a b c d e f "Tropical Cyclone Hettie (11P) best track analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. 2010-02-28. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/2009/2009s-bsh/bsh112009.txt. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
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  27. ^ Staff Writer (2009-02-05). "Tropical Disturbance Advisory 2009-02-05 00z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5eLob1jS5. Retrieved 2010-04-22. 
  28. ^ Staff Writer (2009-02-05). "Gale Warning 2009-02-05 12z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5eMei28J5. Retrieved 2010-04-22. 
  29. ^ Staff Writer (2009-02-06). "Severe Weather Warnings issued on February 6, 2009: Gale Warning 96". Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited. MT Archive. http://mtarchive.geol.iastate.edu/2009/02/05/text/Severe/Severe_05.txt. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
  30. ^ Staff Writer (2009-02-06). "Gale Warning 107 2009-02-06 00z". Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited. http://www.webcitation.org/5eNK6cTCh. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
  31. ^ Staff Writer (2009-02-14). "Tropical Disturbance Summary 2009-02-14 21z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5eau4Aqc2. Retrieved 2010-04-22. 
  32. ^ a b c d Staff Writer (2010-02-28). "Tropical Cyclone Innis (15P) best track analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/2009/2009s-bsh/bsh112009.txt. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
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  35. ^ "Gale Warning 368". Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited. 2009-02-18. http://www.webcitation.org/5egXpPbSp. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
  36. ^ a b c d Staff Writer (2010-02-28). "Tropical Cyclone Joni (20P) best track analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/2009/2009s-bsh/bsh202009.txt. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
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  38. ^ a b c d Staff Writer (2010-02-28). "Tropical Cyclone Ken (21P) best track analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/2009/2009s-bsh/bsh202009.txt. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
  39. ^ "Gale Warning 427". Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited. 2009-03-22. http://www.webcitation.org/5fS9W8QZG. Retrieved 2010-04-23. 
  40. ^ Gary Padgett. "Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Tracks March 2009". Australian Severe Weather. http://www.australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/2009/trak0903.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-23. 
  41. ^ http://www.webcitation.org/5fcDdbMUs
  42. ^ Staff Writer (2009-03-28). "Marine Weather Bulletin 2009-03-29 06z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5fe4wGTB5. Retrieved 2010-07-25. 
  43. ^ Staff Writer (2009-03-28). "Marine Weather Bulletin 2009-03-30 06z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5fepvc66V. Retrieved 2010-07-25. 
  44. ^ Rajendra Prasad (2009-04-04). "Tropical Cyclone Lin". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5flv4t8Ov. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
  45. ^ a b c d e Staff Writer (2010-02-28). "Tropical Cyclone Lin (25P) best track analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/2009/2009s-bsh/bsh252009.txt. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
  46. ^ Staff Writer (2009-04-08). "Tropical Disturbance Summary 2009-04-08 06z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5fsUk0ocS. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
  47. ^ Staff Writer (2009-04-10). "Tropical Disturbance Summary 2009-04-10 18z". Fiji Meteorological Service. http://www.webcitation.org/5fwWlELIB. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 

External links

Tropical cyclones of the 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season

South Pacific Tropical Cyclone Scale
TDI TDE 1 2 3 4 5

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