The 1978–79 South Pacific cyclone season ran year-round from July 1 to June 30. Tropical cyclone activity in the Southern Hemisphere reaches its peak from mid-February to early March. __TOC__

Summary

ImageSize = width:1000 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/12/1978 till:01/05/1979 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/12/1978 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TDi value:rgb(0,0.52,0.84) legend:Tropical_Disturbance id:TD value:rgb(0.43,0.76,0.92) legend:Tropical_Depression id:C1 value:rgb(0.3,1,1) legend:Category_1_=_63-87_km/h_(39-54_mph) id:C2 value:rgb(0.75,1,0.75) legend:Category_2_=_88-142_km/h_(55-74_mph) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.85,0.55) legend:Category_3_=_143-158-km/h_(75-98_mph) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.45,0.54) legend:Category_4_=_159–204_km/h_(99–127_mph) id:C5 value:rgb(0.55,0.46,0.9) legend:Category_5_=_≥205_km/h_(≥128_mph) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:27/12/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:C2 text:"Fay (C2)" from:03/01/1979 till:09/01/1979 color:C3 text:"Gordon (C3)" from:29/01/1979 till:05/02/1979 color:C2 text:"Henry (C2)" from:03/02/1979 till:06/02/1979 color:C1 text:"Judith (C1)" barset:break from:13/02/1979 till:15/02/1979 color:C3 text:"Kerry (C3)" from:21/02/1979 till:23/02/1979 color:C2 text:"Leslie (C2)" from:24/03/1979 till:31/03/1979 color:C3 text:"Meli (C3)" from:30/03/1979 till:01/04/1979 color:C1 text:"Nina (C1)" bar:Month width:4 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/12/1978 till:01/01/1979 text:December from:01/01/1979 till:01/02/1979 text:January from:01/02/1979 till:01/03/1979 text:February from:01/03/1979 till:01/04/1979 text:March from:01/04/1979 till:30/04/1979 text:April TextData = pos:(569,23) text:"(For further details, please see" pos:(713,23) text:"

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

Systems

Tropical Cyclone Fay

The precursor to Tropical Cyclone Fay can be traced back to an area of disturbed weather about to the west of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

early on December 25. As it moved southeastward, it intensified into a tropical cyclone by the next day, before moving close to

Rotuma Rotuma () is a self-governing heptarchy, generally designated a Local government in Fiji, dependency of Fiji. Rotuma commonly refers to the Rotuma Island, the only permanently inhabited and by far the largest of all the islands in the Rotuma Gro ...

by December 28 and reaching peak intensity the following day. The cyclone then moved through Fiji, where sustained winds were pushing at with hurricane-force wind gusts. Once through the islands, Fay accelerated southwards, and was last noted on December 31 as it was becoming extratropical northeast of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Weather stations at Undu Point and

Savusavu Savusavu () is a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove. The town is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island and had a population of 3,372 in the 2007 census. Savusavu is known as "the hidden paradise of Fiji." Geography Savus ...

recorded winds of as Fay passed through Fiji. Some of the

Lau Islands The Lau Islands (also called the Lau Group, the Eastern Group, the Eastern Archipelago) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited. T ...

suffered coastal damage from storm surge.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Gordon

Gordon was first tracked on January 3, when it was about to the north-northeast of the island of

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, an ...

. As it moved in a general southwestward direction, it strengthened into a tropical cyclone by the next day, before becoming a severe tropical cyclone by January 6. Then, it crossed to the north of

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

with winds of , before weakening into a tropical cyclone by January 7. It later approached New Caledonia while continuing to weaken on January 8, before it turned to the west, and subsequently exited the basin on January 9. Severe damage was reported in Vanuatu.

Tropical Cyclone Henry

Forming to the north of Vanuatu on January 29, Henry strengthened into a tropical cyclone on January 31, and took a southward track before becoming an extratropical cyclone and moving over New Zealand by February 4. It had little affect to land areas in Vanuatu.

Tropical Cyclone Judith

Originating in the Australian region, Judith became a tropical cyclone as it moved close to Vanuatu, before turning west and re-entering the region by February 6. Like Henry, it also had little affect to land areas in Vanuatu.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Kerry

Kerry's origins can be traced back to a low that became evident about to the southeast of

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

on February 7. By February 10, some cyclonic curvature could be detected in the surrounding convection, and by February 13, it had strengthened into a category 1 tropical cyclone. Moving generally west-southwest, it further strengthened into a category 2 tropical cyclone by 17:00 UTC on the same day, before fully becoming a severe tropical cyclone by February 14. As it moved closer near the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, it lashed

Ulawa Ulawa Island is an island in Solomon Islands. It is located near Malaita Island and belongs to Makira-Ulawa Province. The island has an area of . A hilly island, its highest point is above sea level. Average temperatures are around 27 ° ...

and neighboring islands, turning southwest and missing

Makira The island of Makira (previously known as San Cristóbal) is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in Solomon Islands. It is third most populous of the Solomon Islands after Malaita and Guadalcanal, with a population of 55,126 as of 2020 ...

and

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

, before skirting near Bellona. The cyclone then subsequently exited the basin and into the Australian region on February 15. Severe damage was reported over the Solomon Islands, with monetary damages of SI$200 thousand. Over 22,000 people were homeless after the cyclone. 4 people were reported dead.

Tropical Cyclone Leslie

Forming to the south of

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

on February 21, Leslie intensified into a category 2 tropical cyclone while rapidly moving southeastward. After crossing the

30th parallel south Following are circles of latitude between the 25th parallel south and the 30th parallel south: 26th parallel south The 26th parallel south latitude is a circle of latitude that is 26 degrees south of Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the ...

, Leslie became extratropical. There were no reports of damage associated with the storm.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Meli

Cyclone Meli first developed as a tropical depression between Fiji and Futuna on March 23. It moved east then southeast while it strengthened into a tropical cyclone, before turning to the west by March 26 as it developed an eye. It moved through Fiji throughout March 26 into 27, passing north of

Lakeba Lakeba (pronounced ) is an island in Fiji’s Southern Lau Islands, Lau Archipelago; the provincial capital of Lau is located here. The island is the List of islands of Fiji, tenth largest in Fiji, with a land area of nearly 60 square kilometers. ...

and very close to

Nayau Nayau is an island in Fiji, a member of the Lau archipelago. It was the ancestral island of the Vuanirewa Clan, who were later exiled to the nearby island of Lakeba. There are three villages located on the island: Salia, Narociva and Liku. Hi ...

, then passing very close to

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

at around 09:00 UTC on March 27. Once Meli cleared Fiji, it recurved to the southeast and weakened, and by March 30, Meli had reportedly weakened to a gale-force cyclone and was turning extratropical. Meli had previously passed through

, damaging

Funafuti Funafuti is an atoll, comprising numerous islets, that serves as the capital of Tuvalu. As of the 2017 census, it has a population of 6,320 people. More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 6 ...

atoll. Meli then caused severe damage over the islands of Moala, Kadavu, Ono, and the central parts of the Lau Group. The island of Nayau suffered a direct hit from Meli. As a result, Fiji suffered tremendous crop losses. At least 11 ships were lost or damaged during the storm, with one of the ships being the Korean fishing vessel NAM HAE 202 with 20 crewmen onboard. A freighter also ran aground off the northwest coast of

Vatulele Vatulele (pronounced ) is a coral and volcanic island south of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. There are four villages on the island: Lomanikaya, Ekubo, Taunovo and Bouwaqa. Economic activities include coconut and taro farming, fishing ...

after departing from Suva late on March 27 to ride out the storm. 52 people were killed by the storm, with 31 in Kadavu, and 14 in Nayau. A man and a young woman drowned after their yacht capsized under winds.

Tropical Cyclone Nina

Tropical Cyclone Nina formed near Vanuatu on March 31, and took a curving track to the southeast, dissipating near

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

by March 3. There were no particular damage reports associated with the storm.

Seasonal effects

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Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

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New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

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American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 South Pacific cyclone season South Pacific cyclone seasons