Cyclone Lusi was the second severe

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

of the 2013–14 season and affected

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 ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The system that was to become Cyclone Lusi was first noted as a tropical disturbance on 7 March, while it was located to the east of Fiji. Over the next three days the system moved towards the north-northeast and gradually developed further, before it was named Lusi, late on 9 March, after it had developed into a tropical cyclone. The system dissipated on 17 March.

Meteorological history

Early on 7 March 2014, the

Fiji Meteorological Service The Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) is a Department of the government of Fiji responsible for providing weather forecasts and is based on the grounds of Nadi Airport in Nadi. The current director of Fiji Meteorological Service is Misaeli Funaki. ...

reported that Tropical Disturbance 18F had developed about to the west of Nadi. The system was located within a marginally favourable environment for further development, which included low to moderate vertical wind shear and favourable

sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mass ...

s. Over the next two days the system moved towards the north-northwest and slowly consolidated, as atmospheric convection wrapped into the system's low level circulation centre, before RSMC Nadi reported during 9 March that the system had developed into a tropical depression. During that day the system further consolidated as it affected

and moved towards the north-northeast, before the United States

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

initiated warnings and designated the depression as Tropical Cyclone 18P later that day. RSMC Nadi subsequently named the system Lusi at around 23:00 UTC (11:00 FST), after it had developed into a category 1 tropical cyclone on the

Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale Tropical cyclones are ranked on one of five tropical cyclone intensity scales, according to their maximum sustained winds and which tropical cyclone basins they are located in. Only a few scales of classifications are used officially by the mete ...

Preparations and impact

Vanuatu

Late on 9 March, ahead of the depression being classified as a tropical cyclone and named Lusi, the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department issued tropical cyclone warnings for the

Vanuatu provinces Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

of Torba, Sanma,

Penama Penama is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the northeast of the country and consisting of three major islands: * Ambae (or Aoba) * Maewo * Pentecost The name Penama is derived from the initial letters of PENtecost, Ambae and MAew ...

and Malampa. The cyclone killed 10 people and impacted as many as 20,000 people, especially in Torba, Sanma, Penama, Malampa and Shefa Provinces. Many low-lying areas were flooded and more than 40 structures were damaged or destroyed. All provinces of the country reported damage to agriculture.

Fiji

On 11 March, a tropical cyclone alert was issued for parts of the Western Division, as Lusi approached the islands from the west. During the next day gale warnings were issued for the Western Division before they were cancelled later that day, as the system turned towards the south sooner than had been expected. As a result, Fiji was spared any direct effects from the cyclone, while the associated trough of low pressure affected the islands until 13 March.

New Zealand

During 9 March, MetService started to warn that a tropical weather system might affect New Zealand by the end of that week. Cyclone Lusi hit New Zealand shores on 13 March. In preparation for the event the New Zealand government advised people to fix loosened things (such as

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled spring (device), springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. ...

s), and the Civil Defense team was put on alert. Winds reaching up to 130 km/h were expected to occur in the cities of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, Whangarei and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, and the east coast of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

was put on high alert. Lusi brought severe winds as it moved southeast towards

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and the northern South Island in the evening of 15 March. On 16 March, the severe gale winds slightly weakened, and Lusi pushed away from

on 17 March. Insured losses across the country amounted to NZ$4 million (US$3 million).

Retirement

Due to the impacts caused by the storm, the name ''Lusi'' was retired and was later replaced by 'Louise'.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lusi Tropical cyclones in New Zealand Tropical cyclones in Fiji Tropical cyclones in Vanuatu 2014 in New Zealand 2013–14 South Pacific cyclone season Category 3 South Pacific cyclones Retired South Pacific cyclones Lusi