The 2003–04 South Pacific cyclone season was a below-average season with only three

tropical cyclones 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 ...

occurring within the South Pacific to the east of 160°E. The season officially ran from November 1, 2003 to April 30, 2004 with the first disturbance of the season forming on December 4 and the last disturbance dissipating on April 23.An average season has nine tropical cyclones, about half of which become severe tropical cyclones.RSMC Nadi warns on systems in the South Pacific which is located from the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

to 25°S and from 160°E to 120°W. TCWC Wellington warns on systems from 25°S to 40°S and from 160°E to 120°W This is the period of the year when most tropical cyclones form within the South Pacific Ocean. During the season at least 16 people were killed from tropical disturbances whilst overall damage was estimated at $ (2004 USD; $ USD). The most damaging tropical disturbance was

Cyclone Heta Severe Tropical Cyclone Heta was a Category 5 tropical cyclone that caused moderate damage to the islands of Tonga, Niue, and American Samoa during late December 2003 and early January 2004. Heta formed on December 25, 2003; it reached a maximum ...

which caused at least $ (2004 USD; $ USD) in damage to six different countries and left three dead. The deadliest tropical disturbance of the season was Tropical Depression 10F, which was responsible for eleven deaths and caused $ (2004 USD) in damage. Cyclone Ivy also caused 2 deaths and caused $ (2004 USD; $ USD) worth of damage to Vanuatu. As a result of the impacts caused by Heta and Ivy, the names were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists. Within the South Pacific, tropical cyclones are monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in

Nadi, Fiji 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, Indi ...

, and the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, 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 List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

. RSMC Nadi attaches a number and an F suffix to tropical disturbances that form in or move into the South Pacific. 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 ...

(JTWC) issues unofficial warnings within the South Pacific, designating tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix. RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both use 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 classifications are used officially by the meteorologi ...

, and measure windspeeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC measures sustained winds over a period of one minute and uses the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.

Seasonal summary

ImageSize = width:800 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:01/12/2003 till:01/05/2004 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/12/2003 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:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:04/12/2003 till:06/12/2003 color:TD text:"01F (TD)" from:16/12/2003 till:20/12/2003 color:TDi text:"02F (TDi)" from:25/12/2003 till:07/01/2004 color:C5 text:" Heta (C5)" from:28/12/2003 till:30/12/2003 color:TD text:"04F (TDi)" barset:break from:21/02/2004 till:02/03/2004 color:C4 text:" Ivy (C4)" from:20/03/2004 till:22/03/2004 color:TD text:"06F (TD)" from:23/03/2004 till:26/03/2004 color:C2 text:"Grace (C2)" from:28/03/2004 till:01/04/2004 color:TD text:"08F (TD)" from:01/04/2004 till:03/04/2004 color:TD text:"09F (TD)" from:04/04/2004 till:09/04/2004 color:TD text:" 10F (TD)" barset:break from:07/04/2004 till:07/04/2004 color:TD text:"11F (TD)" from:07/04/2004 till:13/04/2004 color:TD text:"12F (TD)" from:12/04/2004 till:13/04/2004 color:TD text:"13F (TD)" from:18/04/2004 till:19/04/2004 color:TDi text:"14F (TDi)" from:21/04/2004 till:24/04/2004 color:TDi text:"15F (TDi)" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/12/2003 till:01/01/2004 text:December from:01/01/2004 till:01/02/2004 text:January from:01/02/2004 till:28/02/2004 text:February from:01/03/2004 till:01/04/2004 text:March from:01/04/2004 till:01/05/2004 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

Severe Tropical Cyclone Heta

Cyclone Heta developed in the South Pacific Ocean and reached

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

-force winds on January 1, 2004. It struck the island of

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

with a much more direct blow on January 6. Heta's eyewall hit Niue almost exactly at the height of the storm's power. It caused extensive property damage throughout the island, and two people were killed. Efforts to rebuild from the storm in Niue lasted almost the entire year of 2004. Heta caused

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 ...

to declare a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

(officially a "Declaration of Emergency" in American Samoan law) on January 7, and even though officially the storm never made landfall there, it necessitated the

emergency evacuation Emergency evacuation is an immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property. Examples range from the small-scale evacuation of a building due to a storm ...

of 140 people and was responsible for property damage. The nation of

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 ...

was also affected by Heta, as the winds swept away trees that were needed for the country's food supply. However, Tonga did not receive a direct hit or suffer such extensive loss as Niue.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Ivy

Numbered 05F. Existed between February 21 and February 28. Caused heavy damage in Vanuatu.

Tropical Depression 06F

Formed on March 20, dumped heavy rainfall 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 ...

.Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2004
/ref> 06F was last noted on March 22.

Tropical Cyclone Grace

Entered the region from the west on March 23, became extratropical the next day. Designated as 07F by Nadi.

Tropical Depression 08F

Existed between March 28 and April 1.

Tropical Depression 09F

Existed between April 1 and April 3.

Tropical Depression 10F

Existed between April 6 and April 9. The storm was given the number 22P by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. It was responsible for causing severe flooding 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 ...

and 11 deaths.The South Pacific and southeast Indian Ocean tropical cyclone season 2003–04
/ref> Damage from the flooding was estimated at US$2.6 million.

Tropical Depression 12F

Formed on April 7, later caused severe flooding in

. 12F was last noted on April 13.

Tropical Depression 13F

During April 11 a weak tropical low moved into the South Pacific basin from the Australian region, and was designated as Tropical Disturbance 13F by RSMC Nadi later that day. 13F was last noted on April 13 as a Tropical Depression.

Other systems

The first numbered tropical disturbance of the season developed within a large area of atmospheric convection on December 4, to the northwest of the Fijian dependency of

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 ...

. During that day the depression slowly moved west, before it was classified as a weak tropical depression during the next day. The system subsequently weakened and lost its organisation because of moderate to strong vertical windshear and was last noted during December 6. Tropical Disturbance 02F was first noted by the FMS during December 16, within an environment conducive for further development, about to the west of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Over the next few days, the system remained poorly organised and slow-moving within an area of moderate vertical windshear, before it was last noted by the FMS during December 20, as it entered the Australian region. Tropical Disturbance 04F was subsequently first noted within a broad area of low pressure by the FMS, while it was located on the border with the South Pacific basin, about to the south of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. The system was located in a moderate area of vertical windshear and was poorly organised with

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 "par ...

confined to the system's eastern semicircle. The system subsequently moved south-eastwards and remained poorly organised, before it was last noted by the FMS later that day while it was located to the south of San Cristobal Island. During April 6, the FMS reported that Tropical Depression 11F had developed within a monsoon trough, about to the north-east of Suva in Fiji. Over the next day, the system moved south-eastwards towards Tonga, before it was last noted by the FMS later that day, while it was located about to the southwest of Tongatapu in Tonga. On April 18, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 14F had developed within the monsoon trough, about to the northeast of Nukuʻalofa in Tonga. During that day, the disturbance moved through the Tongan archipelago, before it was last noted later that day. During April 22, the FMS reported that Tropical Disturbance 15F had developed around to the northeast of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Over the next couple of days, the system remained poorly organised and near stationary to the northeast of the Solomon Islands, before it was last noted during April 24.

Season effects

This table lists all the storms that developed in the South Pacific to the east of longitude 160°E during the 2003–04 season. , - , 01F , , , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - , 02F , , , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Disturbance , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands , , None , , None , , , - , Heta , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 5 severe tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Samoan Islands, Niue, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna , , , , , , , - , 04F , , , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Disturbance , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands , , None , , None , , , - ,

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...

, , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand , , $3.8 million , , 4, , , - , 06F , , March 20 – 22 , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , None , , None , , None , , , - , Grace , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - , 08F , , March 28 – April 1 , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , None , , None , , None , , , - , 09F , , April 1 – 3 , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , None , , None , , None , , , - , 10F , , , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, 55 km/h (35 mph) , , bgcolor=#, 995 hPa (29.38 inHg) , , Fiji , , $4.17 million, , 11, , , - , 11F , , April 6 – 7 , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , None , , None , , None , , , - , 12F , , April 7 – 13 , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , Fiji , , None , , None , , , - , 13F , , April 11 – 13 , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Depression , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , bgcolor=#, Not Specified , , None , , None , , None , , , - , 14F , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Tonga , , , , , , , - , 15F , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , , , , , , -

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 South Pacific Cyclone Season South Pacific cyclone seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines 2003 SPAC 2004 SPAC