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2004–05 South Pacific Cyclone Season
The 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season was an above-average season in which tropical cyclones formed within the South Pacific Ocean to the east of 160°E. The season officially ran from November 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005, however a tropical cyclone could form at any time between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 and would count towards the season total. The season got off to an early start, when Tropical Depression 01F developed near the Solomon Islands on October 28, three days before the official start of the season. The final disturbance of the season dissipated as the season was drawing to a close on May 1. The season was above-average in terms of activity, with 9 tropical cyclones and 5 severe tropical cyclones forming during the season. The season featured Cyclone Percy, the most intense of the season in terms of pressure. During the season, tropical cyclones are officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and New Zea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclone Percy
Severe Tropical Cyclone Percy was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone, which was the third and last Category 5 cyclone to form in the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. The seventh named storm and the fourth and final severe tropical cyclone to form during the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. Percy originated as a tropical disturbance on February 23. Over next few days, the system organized while moving east southeastward, before intensifying into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian region scale on February 26. The system quickly intensified, reaching Category 4 status later that day. On the next day, Percy was steered southward by a blocking high-pressure system, ridge of high pressure, while stretched out the structure of the storm into an elliptical shape, weakening it back to Category 3 status. Afterward, the storm rapidly reintensified, reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 tropical cyclone on March 2. Afterward, Percy encountered increasing w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclone Nancy
Severe Tropical Cyclone Nancy (RSMC Nadi designation: ''09F'', JTWC designation: ''18P'') was the second in a series of four severe tropical cyclones to impact the Cook Islands during February 2005. Forming out of an area of low pressure on February 10, Nancy quickly organized into a small, but intense, cyclone. By February 14, the storm explosively intensified into a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone with winds peaking at 10-minute winds)The maximum sustained wind reported by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in Nadi, Fiji are measured by 10-minute standards and a minimum barometric pressure of 935 hPa (mbar). Over the following day, increasing wind shear rapidly weakened the cyclone and by February 17, it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone shortly before being absorbed by Cyclone Olaf. Already impacted by Cyclone Meena in early February, the Cook Islands sustained significant damage from Cyclone Nancy. Several homes were dam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fujiwhara Interaction
The Fujiwhara effect, sometimes referred to as the Fujiwara effect, Fujiwara interaction or binary interaction, is a phenomenon that occurs when two nearby cyclonic vortices move around each other and close the distance between the circulations of their corresponding low-pressure areas. The effect is named after Sakuhei Fujiwara, the Japanese meteorologist who initially described the effect. Binary interaction of smaller circulations can cause the development of a larger cyclone, or cause two cyclones to merge into one. Extratropical cyclones typically engage in binary interaction when within of one another, while tropical cyclones typically interact within of each other. Description When cyclones are in proximity of one another, their centers will circle each other cyclonically (counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere) about a point between the two systems due to their cyclonic wind circulations. The two vortices will be attract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuae (Cook Islands)
Manuae is an uninhabited atoll in the southern group of the Cook Islands, 100 kilometres south-east of Aitutaki. Manuae is not administratively part of Aitutaki, however, it is part of Arutanga-Reureu-Nikaupara Constituency on Aitutaki for electoral purposes only. Geographic description Manuae is a true atoll sitting on the peak of a submerged volcano which descends over 4000 meters to the ocean bed. It comprises two horseshoe-shaped islets, ''Manuae islet'' to the west and ''Te Au O Tu islet'' to the east, with a total area of 6 km2 on either side of a lagoon about 7 km x 4 km. Manuae islet has an area of 2.1 km2, while Te Au O Tu islet is 3.9 km2. The lagoon is 13 km2 in size, shallow and subject to large shifting sand banks. A coral reef surrounds the atoll, and there is no major passage through the reef. The waters surrounding the island are a marine park and it is an important breeding ground for seabirds and marine turtles in the Central P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is called a hurricane (), typhoon (), tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, or simply cyclone. A hurricane is a strong tropical cyclone that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean or northeastern Pacific Ocean. A typhoon is the same thing which occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. In the Indian Ocean and South Pacific, comparable storms are referred to as "tropical cyclones". In modern times, on average around 80 to 90 named tropical cyclones form each year around the world, over half of which develop hurricane-force winds of or more. Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water. They derive their energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pago Pago, American Samoa
Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Pago Pago is home to one of the deepest natural harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered from wind and rough seas, and strategically located.United States Central Intelligence Agency (2016). ''The World Factbook 2016–17''. Government Printing Office. Page 19. .Grabowski, John F. (1992). ''U.S. Territories and Possessions (State Report Series)''. Chelsea House Pub. .Kristen, Katherine (1999). ''Pacific Islands (Portrait of America)''. San Val. . The harbor is also one of the best protected in the South Pacific,Leonard, Barry (2009). ''Minimum Wage in American Samoa 2007: Economic Report''. Diane Publishing. . which gives American Samoa a natural advantage because it makes landing fish for processing easier. Tourism, entertainment, food, and tu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eye (cyclone)
The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of a tropical cyclone. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weather and highest winds of the cyclone occur. The cyclone's lowest barometric pressure occurs in the eye and can be as much as 15 percent lower than the pressure outside the storm. In strong tropical cyclones, the eye is characterized by light winds and clear skies, surrounded on all sides by a towering, symmetric eyewall. In weaker tropical cyclones, the eye is less well defined and can be covered by the central dense overcast, an area of high, thick clouds that show up brightly on satellite imagery. Weaker or disorganized storms may also feature an eyewall that does not completely encircle the eye or have an eye that features heavy rain. In all storms, however, the eye is where the barometer reading is lowest. Structure A typical tropi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atmospheric Convection
Atmospheric convection is the vertical transport of heat and moisture in the atmosphere. It occurs when warmer, less dense air rises, while cooler, denser air sinks. This process is driven by parcel-environment instability, meaning that a "parcel" of air is warmer and less dense than the surrounding environment at the same altitude. This difference in temperature and density (and sometimes humidity) causes the parcel to rise, a process known as buoyancy. This rising air, along with the compensating sinking air, leads to mixing, which in turn expands the height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL), the lowest part of the atmosphere directly influenced by the Earth's surface. This expansion contributes to increased winds, cumulus cloud development, and decreased surface dew points (the temperature below which condensation occurs). Convection plays a crucial role in weather patterns, influencing cloud formation, wind, and the development of thunderstorms, which can be associa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Cook Islands
The Northern Cook Islands is one of the two chains of atolls which make up the Cook Islands. Lying in a horizontal band between 9° and 13°30' south of the Equator, the chain consists of the atolls of Manihiki, Nassau, Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Rakahanga and Suwarrow, along with the submerged Tema Reef. Geography The chain forms a roughly inverted triangular shape, stretching from Penrhyn in the northeast to Pukapuka in the northwest and to Suwarrow in the south. The Northern Cook Islands are separated from the Southern Cook Islands by a wide stretch of the Pacific Ocean, with the nearest part of the Southern chain being Palmerston Island, due south of Suwarrow. With an area of just 21 sq. km. and a population of 1,041 (according to the 2016 census), the islands only account for some 6% of the Cooks' population and 9% of the land area. Almost all of this population is on the three islands of Pukapuka, Manihiki, and Penrhyn. The two chains are also geographically different: altho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the national population, on . Tongatapu is Tonga's centre of government and the seat of its monarchy. Tongatapu has experienced more rapid economic development than the other islands of Tonga, and has thus attracted many internal migrants from them. Geography The island is (or including neighbouring islands) and rather flat, as it is built of coral limestone. The island is covered with thick fertile soil consisting of volcanic ash from neighbouring volcanoes. At the steep coast of the south, heights reach an average of , and maximum , gradually decreasing towards the north. North of the island are many small isolated islands and coral reefs which extend up to from Tongatapu's shores. The almost completely closed Fanga'uta and Fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji. Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesians, Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived on the largest island, Espíritu Santo, in 1606. Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial Spanish East Indies and named it . In the 1880s, France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom claimed parts of the archipelago, and in 1906, they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through an Anglo-French condominium (international law), condominium. An independence movem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Vila
Port Vila ( ; ), or simply Vila (), is the capital of Vanuatu and its largest city. It is on the island of Efate, in Shefa Province. The population was 49,034 as of the 2020 census. In 2020, the population of Port Vila formed 16.3% of the country's population. Located on the east coast of the island of Efate, Port Vila is the economic and commercial centre of Vanuatu. The mayor is Jenny Regenvanu of the Land and Justice Party, the first woman to hold the position, elected in August 2024. Her deputy was Marie Louise Milne, of the Green Confederation, until the seat was vacated in January 2025. Name Locally, the town is most commonly referred to simply as "Vila", whether in French or Bislama or in English (not like English "villa"). The name of the area is ''Efil'' in the native South Efate language and ''Ifira'' in neighbouring Mele-Fila language. ''Vila'' is a variant of these names. Ifira is a small island in Vila harbour where many traditional landowners res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
