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The 2012–13 South Pacific cyclone season was a below average
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 ...
season, with five tropical cyclones occurring within the basin between 160°E and 120°W. The season officially ran from November 1, 2012, to April 30, 2013, however the last tropical disturbance was last noted on May 1, as it moved into the subtropics. During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and New Zealand's
MetService Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited, or simply MetService (), is the national meteorological service of New Zealand. MetService was established as a state-owned enterprise in 1992. It employs about 300 staff, and its headquarters are ...
. 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) and other national meteorological services including
Météo-France Météo-France is the official French meteorological administration, also offering services to Andorra and Monaco. It has the powers of the state and can exercise them in relation to meteorology. Météo-France is in charge of observing, study ...
and
NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...
also monitored the basin during the season. During the season there were 22 significant tropical disturbances assigned a number and a F suffix by the FMS's
Regional Specialized Meteorological Center A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as ...
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 ...
(RSMC Nadi), including Severe Tropical Cyclone Sandra which moved into the basin from the Australian region on March 9. The BoM, MetService and RSMC Nadi all estimated sustained wind speeds over a period of 10-minutes and used 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 ...
, while the JTWC estimated sustained winds over a 1-minute period, which are subsequently compared to the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHS). __TOC__


Seasonal forecasts

Ahead of the cyclone season, RSMC Nadi, TCWC Wellington, the
Australian Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government that is responsible for providing weather forecasts and meteorological services to Australia and neighbouring countries. It was established in 1906 unde ...
(BoM), the New Zealand
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA (), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences. It also maintai ...
(NIWA) and various other Pacific Meteorological services, all contributed towards the Island Climate Update tropical cyclone outlook that was released during October 2012. The outlook took into account the ENSO neutral conditions and near normal
sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...
anomalies that had been observed across the Pacific. As a result, the outlook called for a near average number of tropical cyclones for the 2012–13 season, with nine to twelve named tropical cyclones predicted to occur between 135°E and 120°W compared to an average of 10. At least two of the tropical cyclones were expected to become category 3 severe tropical cyclones, while one might intensify into a category 4 severe tropical cyclone. The outlook also noted within past analogues, category 5 severe tropical cyclones had not been prominent for ENSO neutral seasons, but the most recent analogue suggested that this type of event was possible. In addition to contributing towards the outlook, RSMC Nadi and the BoM issued their own seasonal forecasts for the South Pacific region. The BoM issued 3 seasonal forecasts for the South Pacific region between 142.5°E and 120°W, one for the Western Southern Pacific region between 142.5°E and 165°E and one for the Eastern Southern Pacific region between 165°E and 120°W. They noted that the current neutral ENSO conditions would historically suggest the South Pacific region as a whole would experience near average tropical cyclone activity during the coming season. However, because of the warmer than average sea surface temperatures that were experienced in the central equatorial Pacific between July — September 2012, the western Southern Pacific had a 65% chance for average to below average tropical cyclone activity. For the Eastern part of the region, the BoM predicted that it had a 55% chance of above average tropical cyclones, while for the overall region, they predicted that the region would experience a near average amount of tropical cyclones with a 53% chance of having an above average number of tropical cyclones. Within their outlook RSMC Nadi predicted that between seven and ten tropical cyclones, would occur within the basin compared to an average of around 7.4 cyclones. At least four of the tropical cyclones were expected to become category 3 severe tropical cyclones, while 2–3 might intensify into a category 4 or 5 severe tropical cyclones. They also reported that the tropical cyclone genesis trough was expected to be located near the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...
. This was based on the ENSO Neutral conditions, and the existence of the warm pool of sea surface and sub surface temperature anomalies near the dateline.


Risk forecasts

Both the Island Climate Update and RSMC Nadi's tropical cyclone outlooks assessed the risk of a tropical cyclone affecting a certain island or territory. As the tropical cyclone genesis trough of low pressure was expected to be located near the Dateline, normal or above normal activity was expected for areas near the dateline. The Island Climate Update Outlook predicted that most of the countries to the west of the International Date Line, including Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia Tonga and Fiji were expected to experience near normal or slightly above normal activity. At least one or more severe tropical cyclones were expected to occur anywhere across the southwest Pacific during the season. RSMC Nadi's outlook predicted that New Caledonia, Southern Tonga, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu had an average risk of being affected by a tropical cyclone. Wallis and Futuna, Samoa, Northern Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands and French Polynesia were predicted to face an above average chance of being affected by a tropical cyclone. RSMC Nadi also predicted that there was a potential risk in the chances of severe tropical cyclones, affecting the region this year when compared to the previous season. There was a high chance of Tokelau being affected by a tropical cyclone while there was a moderate to high risk for severe tropical cyclones to affect New Caledonia, the Cook Islands, the Samoan Islands and the Solomon Islands. Wallis and Futuna, Tuvalu, Niue and Vanuatu were predicted to have a moderate risk while Fiji and Tonga were thought to have a low to moderate risk of being impacted by a severe tropical cyclone.


Seasonal summary

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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 ...
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The first tropical disturbance of the season developed on November 6, to the southwest of
Suva, Fiji Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
which moved towards the southeast over the next day before it was last noted during the next day as it moved out of the tropics. Tropical Disturbance 02F subsequently developed on November 18 to the northeast of Port Vila, Vanuatu and over the next few days slowly moved to the west-southwest while gradually developing further. The system almost developed into a weak tropical cyclone as it moved along the Vanuatu Islands causing some locally heavy rain, minor damage and flash flooding, before it was last noted November 24 as it moved out of RSMC Nadi's area of responsibility. After 02F left the tropics, the basin remained quiet until early December when the Australian monsoon pushed eastwards along the
South Pacific convergence zone The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), a reverse-oriented monsoon trough, is a band of low-level convergence, cloudiness and precipitation extending from the Western Pacific Warm Pool at the maritime continent south-eastwards towards French Po ...
, and a Madden–Julian oscillation caused an increase in tropical cyclone activity. On December 9, RSMC Nadi started to monitor the precursor systems to Tropical Depression 03F and Severe Tropical Cyclone Evan.


Systems


Tropical Depression 02F

Tropical Disturbance 02F developed within a trough of low pressure to the north-east of the
Santa Cruz Islands The Santa Cruz Islands form an archipelago in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands. They lie approximately to the southeast of the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago, just north of the archipelago of Vanuatu and are con ...
during November 18. Over the next few days the system moved slowly and gradually developed further in an area of low vertical wind shear and was declared a tropical depression during November 20. The system subsequently turned towards the south-southeast and impacted Vanuatu, before it moved into an area of unfavourable conditions for further development, including high vertical wind shear and lower sea surface temperatures during November 22. As a result, convection surrounding the system significantly decreased and detached from the systems low level circulation center. The system was subsequently last noted by the FMS during November 24, as it approached the subtropics as a former tropical depression. There was no damage recorded when the depression impacted Vanuatu between November 20–22. A rainfall total of was recorded at the Whitegrass Observation Station on Tanna Island during November 21, while a total of was recorded on
Aneityum Island Aneityum (also known as Anatom or Keamu) is the southernmost island of Vanuatu, in the province of Tafea. Geography Aneityum is the southernmost island of Vanuatu (not counting the Matthew and Hunter Islands, which are disputed with New Caled ...
during November 22. The trough of low pressure associated with 02F, brought strong winds over Western and Southern parts of Fiji during November 22, with Ono-i-lau recording the highest sustained winds of and gusts of up to .


Tropical Depression 03F

During December 9, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Depression 03F had developed in an area of high vertical windshear, about to the northeast of Avarua on the Cook Island of Rarotonga. It was classified as a Subtropical system by the SSHWS as it reached peak intensity on December 13 but failed to be a tropical cyclone. 03F then dissipated on December 17 near a subtropical ridge.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Evan

On December 9, RSMC Nadi started to monitor a weak
tropical depression 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 ...
, that had developed within the
South Pacific convergence zone The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), a reverse-oriented monsoon trough, is a band of low-level convergence, cloudiness and precipitation extending from the Western Pacific Warm Pool at the maritime continent south-eastwards towards French Po ...
, about to the northeast of
Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
, Fiji. Over the next two days, the depression gradually developed further in an area of low vertical windshear and favourable sea surface temperatures, as it was steered eastwards by an upper level ridge of
high pressure In science and engineering the study of high pressure examines its effects on materials and the design and construction of devices, such as a diamond anvil cell, which can create high pressure. ''High pressure'' usually means pressures of thousan ...
. During December 11, the JTWC started to issue warnings and designated the system as Tropical Cyclone 04P, after 1-minute sustained winds had become equivalent to a tropical storm. RSMC Nadi then reported early the next day that the system had become a category one tropical cyclone and named it Evan, while it was located about to the west of
Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, 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, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...
on the
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 ...
n island of
Tutuila Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisba ...
. The cyclone struck
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, inhabited ...
on December 13 with category 2 strength winds of more than , causing widespread damage in the capital,
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 ...
. Most of the roads out of Apia have reportedly been cut off by floodwaters. The system is expected to head south towards
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 ...
. On December 13, Tropical Cyclone Evan battered Samoa and
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 ...
with wind gusts up to , before roaring over
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 ...
as a Category 4 storm on December 17, with winds reaching up to . It then weakened to a Tropical Depression on October 19 as its remnants became exposed. Its remnants continued to move southerly direction which gave heavy rains and strong winds to New Zealand on December 21 and 22 and fully dissipated on late on December 23. Evan killed at least 14 people on Samoa and left behind severe damage. The US Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa David Huebner confirmed the United States had provided
NZ$ The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...
60,000 to the Samoan
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
for relief operations. New Zealand authorities sent
NZ$ The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...
50,000 on December 15, as well as the P-3 Orion plane to search for the missing fishermen. Two days later the New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister
Murray McCully Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a New Zealand former politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017. Early life Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Arap ...
announced an additional
NZ$ The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...
550,000 was to be made available to the Samoan government, as well as the Samoan Red Cross and any agencies on the ground that might need it. Five additional New Zealand Red Cross workers were also sent to support local efforts. As the legislators prepared to receive initial assessments of the economic damage wrecked by Evan, the bill was expected to be at least
NZ$ The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...
200,000,000, and possibly rise as high as 300 million.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Freda

On December 26, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 05F had developed within an area of low to moderate vertical windshear about 1075 km (670 mi) to the north of Port Vila, Vanuatu. During that day as the system moved towards the west, convection surrounding the centre and the general organization of the system increased, before RSMC Nadi reported that the system had developed into a tropical depression. During December 27, the depression started to move towards the southwest and the southern Solomon Islands, as convection surrounding the centre and the general organization of the system continued to increase. The system then passed near the Southern Solomon Islands early the next day, before the JTWC designated the depression as Tropical Cyclone 06P and initiated advisories on it as the system had become equivalent to a tropical storm. Later that day RSMC Nadi reported that the depression had become a category one tropical cyclone and named it Freda, as it continued to move towards the southwest and passed over
Rennell Island Rennell Island, locally known as Mugaba, is the main island of two inhabited islands that make up the Rennell and Bellona Province in the nation state of Solomon Islands. Rennell Island has a land area of and is about long and wide. It is ...
. During December 29, Freda continued to move towards the south-southwest, crossed 160°E and briefly moved into the Australian region, before it started to move towards the south-southeast along the western edge of the
subtropical ridge The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges or highs. It is a high-pressur ...
of
high pressure In science and engineering the study of high pressure examines its effects on materials and the design and construction of devices, such as a diamond anvil cell, which can create high pressure. ''High pressure'' usually means pressures of thousan ...
and moved back into the South Pacific basin. During that day the system developed an wide eye while significantly intensifying further, with RSMC Nadi reporting by 1800 UTC that Freda had become a category 3 severe tropical cyclone with 10-minute sustained windspeeds of . During December 30, Freda continued to intensify further, before RSMC Nadi reported that Freda had peaked as a category 4 severe tropical cyclone with 10-minute sustained windspeeds of . The JTWC subsequently followed suit and reported that Freda had peaked with 1-minute sustained windspeeds of which made it equivalent to a category 3 hurricane on the SSHS. After it had peaked, Freda started to quickly weaken as it continued to move towards the south-southeast, as vertical windshear over the system increased and caused convection over Freda's northern semicircle to gradually wear away. By 0000 UTC on January 1, the JTWC reported that Freda had become equivalent to a category one hurricane, while RSMC Nadi had reported that the system had weakened into a category 2 tropical cyclone. Throughout that day, Freda continued to weaken before at 1800 UTC after deep convection had become displaced to the east of the low level circulation center, RSMC Nadi reported that the cyclone had weakened into a tropical depression. During the next day the JTWC issued their final advisory on the system after the low level circulation center had become fully exposed before the remnant tropical depression crossed the northern part of New Caledonia's Grande Terre Island. After crossing New Caledonia's biggest island, Freda started to move towards the southeast between Grande Terre and the Loyalty Islands, while the JTWC reported that Freda had become a subtropical cyclone, as it was positioned under a strong subtropical westerly flow. The remnant depression was subsequently last noted during January 4, as it dissipated about to the southwest of Nadi, Fiji. As of December 29, the storm has hit the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
with strong winds and heavy rain. The cyclone was full force on
Rennell Island Rennell Island, locally known as Mugaba, is the main island of two inhabited islands that make up the Rennell and Bellona Province in the nation state of Solomon Islands. Rennell Island has a land area of and is about long and wide. It is ...
and the country's major island of
Makira The island of Makira (previously known as San Cristóbal) is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in Solomon Islands. It is third most populous of the Solomon Islands after Malaita and Guadalcanal, with a population of 55,126 as of 2020 ...
, which so far was the hardest hit. Winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour were expected in Rennell and
Bellona Island Bellona Island (indigenous name Mungiki) is an island within Rennell and Bellona Province, in Solomon Islands. Its length is about and its average width . Its area is about . It is almost entirely surrounded by high cliffs, consisting primaril ...
s. Freda is expected to affect the country until early Monday morning. On December 30,
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
was being warned to prepare for the arrival of Freda on January 2. The category four system was weakening as it headed south-south east at about 13 kilometres per hour. On December 30, Freda moved across the southern Solomon Islands. As Cyclone Freda weakened, it struck New Caledonia as a tropical storm at about 0000 UTC on January 2, 2013. At the height of the storm one man drowned in New Caledonia, while another person was left missing after attempting to cross a swollen river while around 3200 people were without power.


Tropical Depression 08F

On January 9, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 08F had developed about to the northeast of Wallis Island.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Garry

On January 14, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 09F had developed about to the southeast of Honiara on the Solomon Island of
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
. Tropical Cyclone Garry was forecast to intensify as a Category 1 with 1-min sustained winds of 65 knots briefly according to the JTWC. However, it intensified to a Category 2 with 1-min sustained winds of 85 knots according to the
JTWC 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 ...
. On January 27 while southwest of
Bora Bora Bora Bora (French language, French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands (Society Islands), Leeward Islands in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific. The Leeward Islands comprise the we ...
it transitioned to an extra-tropical storm.


Tropical Depression 11F

On January 26, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Depression 11F had developed within an area of high vertical windshear about to the southeast of
Suva, Fiji Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
.


Tropical Cyclone Haley

On February 7, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 14F had developed under an upper level ridge of high pressure in an area of low vertical windshear, about to the east of the Cook Island: Suwarrow. A few days later, it strengthened to Tropical Cyclone Haley. On February 11, RSMC Nadi issues its final advisory for ex-Tropical Cyclone Haley having agreed that it would move South-East and weaken further. By February 11, Haley weakened into a tropical depression, with the low level circulation center becoming fully exposed, with most of the convection displaced to the far east due to wind shear from the west, overall decreasing its organization.


Tropical Disturbance 16F

On February 28, RSMC Nadi started to monitor a tropical disturbance that had developed, about to the south of Honiara on the Solomon Island of Guadalcanal. The system resulted in gale warnings being issued in Tonga. The system was last noted on March 7, while located about to the south-west of Suva, near the
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 ...
an island of
Matuku Matuku may refer to: * ''Matuku'' (bird), monotypic genus of a Miocene heron from New Zealand * Matuku Island, Fiji * Matuku (Tonga) * Matuku-tangotango In Māori mythology, Matuku-tangotango (Matuku) is an ogre who kills Wahieroa the son of T� ...
.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Sandra

Cyclone Sandra formed off the
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
coast on March 8. During March 9, it moved into the South Pacific basin from the Australian region as a Category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone, while located about to the south of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Upon reaching Category 4 and threatening
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, it hit
Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...
as a Category 2 storm on March 15, despite weakening to Category 1 the day before. The remnants of Sandra bought areas of heavy rain and thunderstorms to drought-stricken parts of New Zealand, with reports of up to 112 mm at Turakina near
Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...
and a tornado in
New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...
. High waves caused by the cyclone caused the death of one man at Bondi beach in Australia.


Other systems

The following weak tropical disturbances and depressions were also monitored by RSMC Nadi, however all of these systems were either short lived or did not develop significantly. The first tropical disturbance of the season developed on November 6, to the southwest of
Suva, Fiji Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
. The system subsequently moved towards the southeast over the next day, before it was last noted during November 7, as it moved out of the tropics. Late on December 30, Tropical Depression 06F developed within the South Pacific convergence zone, about to the west of Niue. During the next day, the system slowly moved southwards and developed into a tropical depression, before it was last noted later that day as it moved out of the tropics. On January 7, Tropical Disturbance 07F developed near an upper level low, in area of moderate vertical windshear about to the northeast of Papeete on Tahiti Island in French Polynesia. Over the next two days the disturbance moved towards the southeast, before it was last noted during January 9, as it was not expected to become a tropical cyclone and convection surrounding the system had become irregular. On January 26, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 10F had developed within an area of moderate vertical wind shear about to the east of the Duff Islands. Over the next couple of days the system slowly moved south-eastwards, before the disturbance was last noted by RSMC Nadi on January 28. Tropical Disturbance 12F developed on February 2, under an upper level ridge of high pressure in an area of moderate to high vertical windshear, about to the south of Papeete, on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti. During that day, convection surrounding the system became displaced to the east of the low level circulation center before the final warning was issued later that day. As the final warning on 12F was issued, RSMC Nadi reported that Tropical Disturbance 13F had developed under an upper level ridge of high pressure in an area of moderate vertical windshear, about to the northeast of Suva, Fiji. By February 7, the system's low level circulation center became exposed, with RSMC Nadi issuing their final warning on the system as it had left the tropics. Tropical Depression 15F was first noted within a trough of low pressure on February 21, while it was located about to the west 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 ...
,
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 ...
. Over the next couple of days the system moved slowly westwards and impacted Fiji, with heavy rain and squally thunderstorms which led to localised flooding being reported in various places 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 ...
. The system was subsequently last noted during February 24, as it turned and started to move south-eastwards. On March 12, Tropical Disturbance 18F developed within an area of moderate vertical windshear, underneath an upper level ridge of high pressure about to the north of Suva, Fiji. Over the next few days the system moved towards the southwest as deep convection surrounding the system decreased, before the system was last noted during March 15. Tropical Disturbance 19F developed on March 14, within an area of moderate vertical windshear about to the northeast of Port Vila, Vanuatu. Over the next few days, the system moved towards the southwest and affected the Northern islands of Vanuatu, before the disturbance was last noted during March 17. Tropical Disturbance 20F developed on March 27, about NW of Fiji. In April no designations were issued until the 20th, when Tropical Disturbance 21F was analysed south 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 ...
, Fiji. On April 28, Tropical Disturbance 22F developed within a trough of low pressure, about to the northeast of Port Vila in Vanuatu. Over the next couple of days convection surrounding the system remained poor, as it moved south-eastwards into an area of high vertical windshear. The system was last noted on May 1, to the south of Fiji as it moved into TCWC Wellington's area of responsibility.


Storm names

Within the Southern Pacific a tropical depression is judged to have reached tropical cyclone intensity should it reach winds of and it is evident that gales are occurring at least halfway around the center. Tropical depressions that intensify into a tropical cyclone between the Equator and 25°S and between 160°E and 120°W are named by the FMS. However, should a tropical depression intensify to the south of 25°S between 160°E and 120°W it will be named by MetService in conjunction with the FMS. If a tropical cyclone moves out of the basin and into the Australian region, it will retain its original name. The names ''Garry'' and ''Haley'' would be used for the first time this year, after replacing the names ''
Gavin Gavin is a Celtic male given name. It is the Scottish variation of the medieval Welsh name Gawain, meaning 'God send' or 'white hawk/falcon'. Sir Gawain is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is an epic poem ...
'' and ''
Hina Hina may refer to: People and deities * Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Hina (goddess), the name assigned to a number of Polynesian deities. * Hina (singer), of 2021 group Lightsum Other u ...
'' after the 1996-97 season. The names that were used for the 2012-13 season are listed below: If a tropical cyclone enters the South Pacific basin from the Australian region basin (west of 160°E), it will retain the name assigned to it by the
Australian Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government that is responsible for providing weather forecasts and meteorological services to Australia and neighbouring countries. It was established in 1906 unde ...
. The following storms were named in this manner: * Sandra


Retirement

After the season, the names ''Evan'' and ''Freda'' were both retired, and were replaced by ''Eden'' and ''Florin''.


Season effects

This table lists all the storms that developed in the South Pacific to the east of longitude 160°E during the 2012–2013 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale, duration, name, landfalls, deaths, and damages. All data is taken from RSMC Nadi and/or TCWC Wellington, and all of the damage figures are in 2012 USD. , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Fiji , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Cook Islands , , None , , 1 , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Samoan Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Fiji
Tonga, New Zealand , , , , 14 , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands, New Caledonia , , Unknown , , , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , French Polynesia , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Wallis and Futuna, Fiji, Tonga , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna
Samoan Islands, Cook Islands , , Minor , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , French Polynesia , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Cook Islands , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Cook Islands , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Fiji , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , New Caledonia, New Zealand , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Fiji , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Vanuatu , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - , , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , -


See also

* Tropical cyclones in
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
and
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
* List of South Pacific cyclone seasons *Atlantic hurricane seasons:
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
*Pacific hurricane seasons:
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
*Pacific typhoon seasons:
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
*North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons:
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
* 2012–13 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season *
2012–13 Australian region cyclone season The 2012–13 Australian region cyclone season was a slightly below average tropical cyclone season event in the ongoing cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started on 1 November 2012, and officially ended on 30 April 2013, despit ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 South Pacific cyclone season South Pacific cyclone seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines 2012 SPac 2013 SPac