Timeline of the 1990–91 South Pacific cyclone season

The 1990–91 South Pacific cyclone season was a below-average season; only two tropical cyclones occurred within the South Pacific to the east of 160°E.[A 1] The season officially ran from November 1, 1990, to April 30, 1991, but the first disturbance of the season formed on November 23 and the last dissipated on May 19.[A 2] This is the period of the year when most tropical cyclones form within the South Pacific Ocean.[1] During the season, no one was killed from tropical disturbances within the South Pacific. However, six people were killed by Cyclone Joy when it made landfall on Australia. The only tropical cyclone to cause any damage while within this basin was Sina, which caused at least $18.5 million (1991 USD; $29.8 million 2012 USD) in damage to Fiji and Tonga.[2] As a result of the impacts of both Joy and Sina, 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) at the Fiji Meteorological Service in Nadi and by the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited in Wellington. 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 International Date Line, while the NWOC issued warnings for tropical cyclones forming between the International Date Line and the coasts of the Americas. Both the JTWC and the NWOC-designated tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix with numbers assigned in numerical 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 ten minutes, while the JTWC and the NWOC measured sustained winds over one minute and use the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.

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

Contents

Timeline of storms


November

November 1
November 20
November 23
November 24
November 25
November 26
November 27
November 28
November 29

December

December 4
December 15
December 17

January and February

March

March 15
March 21

April

April 30

May

May 11
May 12
May 13
May 19

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
  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. ^ a b c d "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 2010-06-16. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g A. Bannister, K. Smith (1993). "The South Pacific and Southeast Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone Season 1990–1991" (PDF). Australian Meteorological Magazine (Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)) 40: 111–121. http://www.bom.gov.au/amm/docs/1993/bannister.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  3. ^ Graham F.A. Ward (1995-03-01). "Prediction of tropical cyclone formation in terms of sea-surface temperatures vorticity and vertical windshear" (PDF). Australian meteorological magazine (Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)) 44. http://www.bom.gov.au/amoj/docs/1995/ward.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Tropical Cyclone Sina (03P) Best Track Analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. 1992. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/1991/1991s-bsh/bsh031991.txt. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "TCWC Wellington Best Track Data 1967–2006". Fiji Meteorological Service, Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited, Bureau of Meteorology (Australia). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2009-05-22. ftp://eclipse.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/ibtracs/original-bt-data-files/wellington/TC_BT_1967_2006.xls. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  6. ^ a b "Tropical Cyclone Joy (06P) Best Track Analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. 1992. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/1991/1991s-bsh/bsh061991.txt. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  7. ^ a b "Tropical Depression 16P Best Track Analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. 1992. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/1991/1991s-bsh/bsh161991.txt. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  8. ^ a b "Tropical Cyclone Lisa (21P) Best Track Analysis". Joint Typhoon Warning Center. 1992. http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/best_tracks/1991/1991s-bsh/bsh211991.txt. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 

External links

Tropical cyclones of the 1990–91 South Pacific cyclone season
South Pacific Tropical Cyclone Scale
TDI TDE 1 2 3 4 5
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Preceded by
1989–90		 South Pacific cyclone season timelines
1990–91		 Succeeded by
1991–92