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.
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Systems
Tropical Cyclone Fay
Severe Tropical Cyclone Gordon
Gordon developed on January 3 and left the basin on January 9.
Tropical Cyclone Henry
Henry existed from January 29 to February 5.
Tropical Storm 11P
This storm moved in the circular path, entering the basin on February 3 and returning to the Australian region on February 6.
Tropical Cyclone Kerry
Tropical Cyclone Kerry has the distinction of being the longest lived cyclone in the Australian region. It formed on February 13, 1979, and caused severe damage in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. It then tracked across the
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
making landfall near
Mackay, Queensland
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Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River.
Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...
on March 1 and dissipated on March 6. Its lowest pressure was 955hPa.
[Bureau of Meteorology (1992). ''Climate of Queensland'', Commonwealth of Australia ]
Tropical Cyclone Leslie
Leslie existed from February 21 to February 23.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Meli
Cyclone Meli struck eastern Fiji on March 25. The island of Nayau suffered a direct hit and passed close to the islands of Lakeba and Cicia. Fiji suffered tremendous crop losses as a result of the storm.
On March 27, 1979, Cyclone Meli brushed
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), 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 ...
at peak intensity, causing substantial damage to the island. At least 50 people were killed by the storm.
Cyclone Meli had previously passed through
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...
damaging
Funafuti
Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of la ...
atoll.
Tropical Storm 23P
This storm existed from March 30 to April 3.
Seasonal effects
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References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 South Pacific cyclone season
South Pacific cyclone seasons