The 1999–2000 South Pacific tropical cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of

tropical cyclone 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 locat ...

formation and ran from November 1, 1999, to April 30, 2000, in the South Pacific. The regional tropical cyclone operational plan defines a "''tropical cyclone year''" separately from a "''tropical cyclone season''", with the "tropical cyclone year" for this season lasting from July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2000. All of the six named storms affected land in some way, but no major damage was reported from any of the storms. __TOC__

Seasonal summary

ImageSize = width:820 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:01/09/1999 till:31/05/2000 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/09/1999 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:05/09/1999 till:06/09/1999 color:TD text:"TD" from:30/11/1999 till:30/11/1999 color:TDi text:"01F (TDi)" from:30/11/1999 till:30/11/1999 color:TDi text:"02F (TDi)" from:01/12/1999 till:03/12/1999 color:TD text:"03F (TD)" from:05/12/1999 till:07/12/1999 color:TD text:"04F (TD)" from:03/01/2000 till:06/01/2000 color:TD text:"06F (TD)" barset:break from:06/01/2000 till:10/01/2000 color:C3 text:"Iris (C3)" from:16/01/2000 till:16/01/2000 color:TDi text:"07F (TDi)" from:20/01/2000 till:23/01/2000 color:TD text:"08F (TD)" from:23/01/2000 till:27/01/2000 color:C3 text:"Jo (C3)" from:23/02/2000 till:28/02/2000 color:C4 text:"Kim (C4)" from:28/02/2000 till:28/02/2000 color:TD text:"13F (TD)" barset:break from:04/03/2000 till:08/03/2000 color:C2 text:"Leo (C2)" from:06/03/2000 till:11/03/2000 color:C3 text:"Mona (C3)" from:09/03/2000 till:12/03/2000 color:TDi text:"16F (TDi)" from:28/03/2000 till:02/04/2000 color:TD text:"17F (TD)" from:05/04/2000 till:06/04/2000 color:TD text:"TD" from:10/04/2000 till:10/04/2000 color:TDi text:"18F (TDi)" barset:break from:13/04/2000 till:17/04/2000 color:C1 text:"Neil (C1)" from:29/04/2000 till:30/04/2000 color:TD text:"20F (TD)" from:30/04/2000 till:10/05/2000 color:TD text:"21F (TD)" from:03/05/2000 till:08/05/2000 color:TD text:"22F (TD)" from:06/05/2000 till:07/05/2000 color:TD text:"23F (TD)" from:20/05/2000 till:21/05/2000 color:TDi text:"24F (TDi)" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/09/1999 till:30/09/1999 text:September from:01/10/1999 till:31/10/1999 text:October from:01/11/1999 till:30/11/1999 text:November from:01/12/1999 till:31/12/1999 text:December from:01/01/2000 till:31/01/2000 text:January from:01/02/2000 till:28/02/2000 text:February from:01/03/2000 till:31/03/2000 text:March from:01/04/2000 till:30/04/2000 text:April from:01/05/2000 till:31/05/2000 text:May 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 Depression 06F

Severe Tropical Cyclone Iris

A disturbance was identified on January 3 at 06:00 (UTC) near Espiritu Santo in

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 ...

. The storm was difficult to locate the general centre for the next couple of days, but on January 6, it became more organised, while displaying midget characteristics. On January 7 at 21:00 (UTC), it was named Tropical Cyclone Iris, located northwest of

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 ...

, moving southeast. In Vila, away from Iris's centre, recorded winds of only up to , explaining the very small size of the cyclone. Iris intensified with 10-min winds increasing to on January 8 at 12:00 (UTC). JTWC's estimated 1-min winds was . There were some indications that Iris could be far more intense than what the warning centres estimated, mainly due to its small size. Iris accelerated eastward, leaving Vanuatu. On January 9, Iris began its weakening trend, while moving closer to

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 ...

. Iris was downgraded to a depression on January 10, just 48 hours after it had reached its peak intensity. The final warning placed the centre on the Dateline southeast of Fiji. Fresh to strong winds and very rough seas were experienced over the western and southern parts of Fiji. Overall damage was minimal. Cyclone Iris was most notable for its rapid strengthening in its early stages, followed by its rapid decay.

Tropical Disturbance 07F

Tropical Depression 08F

Severe Tropical Cyclone Jo

A disturbance was first identified over northern parts of

on January 19. It developed slowly, but deepened quickly on January 22, and advisories were issued on the system on January 23. It moved southward and was upgraded to Tropical Cyclone Jo on January 24 at 03:00 (UTC). Jo moved to the south-east and attained storm force winds 15 hours after being named. The cyclone reached its peak intensity on January 26 at 00:00 (UTC) located south of

Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...

, with 10-min average winds of . JTWC's peak 1-min average winds were . Jo moved further to the south-east, and moved close enough to affect

. Gusts to were recorded on

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...

on Fiji, even though Jo was about away from the Fiji. Flash flooding was reported, but there was no major river flooding. Cyclone Jo was declared extratropical on January 28 at 06:00 (UTC) when located more than east of

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

in New Zealand.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Kim

During February 22, a cold core low developed into a tropical depression, about to the east-southeast of Rikitea in French Polynesia. It initially developed little but late on February 24, the depression developed rapidly, and the storm reached

tropical storm 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 lo ...

strength at 18:00 (UTC), named Tropical Cyclone Kim. It was located about west of

Rikitea Rikitea is a small town on Mangareva, which is part of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. A majority of the islanders live in Rikitea. The island was a protectorate of France in 1871 and was annexed in 1881. History The town's history dates ...

or about southeast of

Mururoa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll i ...

. Cyclone Kim reached hurricane strength on February 25, only 18 hours after being named, while moving to the south-west. The storm reached its peak intensity of on February 26 at 12:00 (UTC), located more than east of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

. Minimum pressure at this time was 955 mbar. The estimated 1-min average winds from NPMOC was . Kim gradually weakened over cooler waters, still moving to the south-west. Cyclone Kim became

extratropical Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

south of

on February 29 at 06:00 (UTC). Damage from Kim was minimal from

, since it was only a depression at the time. The island recorded 10-min average winds of , with a peak gust of and a minimum pressure of 996 mbar. As a hurricane, the island of

Rapa Iti Rapa, also called Rapa Iti, or "Little Rapa", to distinguish it from Easter Island, whose Polynesian name is Rapa Nui, is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo. Th ...

recorded a gust of , when Kim was away from the island. A pressure of 995.8 mbar was recorded. Overall, damage in

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

was minor.

Tropical Depression 13F

Tropical Cyclone Leo

On March 4, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 14F had developed about to the west-northwest of French Polynesia under a

tropical upper tropospheric trough A tropical upper tropospheric trough (TUTT), also known as the mid-oceanic trough, is a trough situated in the upper-level (at about 200 hPa) tropics. Its formation is usually caused by the intrusion of energy and wind from the mid-latitudes into ...

Severe Tropical Cyclone Mona

As Leo was developing, a new disturbance formed south of

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

Western 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, inhabit ...

. The first gale warning was issued on March 7 as it moved closer to northern

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 ...

. Wind warnings were issued for some islands in Tonga including Vavau, Haapai and

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% o ...

. The storm rapidly developed on March 8 at 06:00 UTC, and was named Tropical Cyclone Mona six hours later, while located west of Haapai and moving slowly southward. A storm warning was put for the whole Tongatapu Group on the 8th. An eye developed on March 9, and Mona was upgraded to hurricane intensity at 0600 UTC, located west of

. Mona moved south-southeastward and accelerated. It reached an intensity of on March 10, southeast of Tongatapu. NPMOC's 1-min winds were estimated at . Minimum pressure of Mona was 965 mbar. It began to weaken rapidly, as it sped off southwards, and became extratropical on March 11 at 12:00 UTC. In the Vavau and Haapai groups, there was damage to crops, particularly to banana and coconut plantations. There was moderate damage to houses and school buildings in Tongatapu. The unofficial damage assessment, according to the Tongan National Disaster Management Office, totalled Tongan $6 million. A police patrol boat sank off Eua Island in the Tongatapu group.

Tropical Disturbance 16F

Tropical Depression 17F (Vaughan)

Tropical Disturbance 18F

Tropical Cyclone Neil

On April 12, RSMC Nadi started monitoring a tropical disturbance, that had developed within a trough of low pressure to the northeast of Fiji. During the next day the system moved southwestwards towards Fiji and developed into a tropical depression, as convention around the center increasing. At 17:00 UTC, it was named Tropical Cyclone Neil, located southeast of Kadavu. It moved slowly southward, but on April 16 at 12:00 UTC, it was downgraded to a tropical depression. Damage from Neil was minimal. Kadavu and Ono-i-Lau in Fiji reported gales from Neil, while torrential rain was experienced over some parts of

. There was one fatality due to drowning, but not directly associated with the cyclone.

Tropical Depression 20F

Tropical Depression 21F

Tropical Depression 22F

Other systems

On September 5, a tropical depression had developed in conjunction with a weak tropical wave about to the south-southeast of Port Vila in Vanuatu. During that day the depression moved slowly towards the southeast, while weakening due to the influence of north-westerly windshear, before the final advisory was issued during September 6. Tropical Disturbance 01F and 02F then developed towards the end of November, but remained weak and did not significantly develop. On December 1, Tropical Depression 03F developed near the Vanuatuan islands, over the next few days the depression remained near stationary before it was last noted on December 3. Tropical Depression 04F developed near New Caledonia on December 5, over the next few days it moved quickly towards the east, before weakening during December 7, while located near the Tongan Islands. On April 10, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 18F had developed from an upper-level low, the system subsequently moved south-eastwards but was never classified as a tropical depression. Tropical Disturbance 23F developed between Fiji and Vanuatu during May 6, and was briefly referred to as a tropical depression by RSMC Nadi but it develop further as it was sheared. Tropical Disturbance 24F subsequently developed near the Solomon Island of Rennell during May 20, and moved westwards into the Australian region over the next day.

Seasonal effects

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1999-2000 South Pacific Cyclone Season South Pacific cyclone seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines 2000 Spac