2001–02 South Pacific cyclone season
| 2001–02 South Pacific cyclone season |
Season summary map
|
| Seasonal boundaries |
| First system formed |
November 29, 2001 |
| Last system dissipated |
April 22, 2002 |
| Strongest storm |
|
| Name |
Waka |
| • Maximum winds |
185 km/h (115 mph)
(10-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure |
930 hPa (mbar) |
| Seasonal statistics |
| Total disturbances |
16 |
| Total depressions |
15 |
| Tropical cyclones |
5 |
| Severe tropical cyclones |
2 |
| Total fatalities |
1 indirect |
| Total damage |
$51.3 million (2002 USD) |
| Related articles |
|
|
South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons
1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04
|
| Category 1 tropical cyclone (Australian scale) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) |
|
|
| Duration |
November 29 – December 3 |
| Peak intensity |
65 km/h (40 mph) (10-min) 995 hPa (mbar) |
| Category 4 severe tropical cyclone (Australian scale) |
| Category 3 tropical cyclone (SSHWS) |
|
|
| Duration |
December 19 – January 2 |
| Peak intensity |
185 km/h (115 mph) (10-min) 930 hPa (mbar) |
| Category 1 tropical cyclone (Australian scale) |
|
|
| Duration |
December 22 – December 26 |
| Peak intensity |
65 km/h (40 mph) (10-min) 996 hPa (mbar) |
| Tropical depression (Australian scale) |
|
|
| Duration |
December 31 – January 6 (out of area)
|
| Peak intensity |
65 km/h (40 mph) (10-min) 998 hPa (mbar) |
| Category 3 severe tropical cyclone (Australian scale) |
| Category 1 tropical cyclone (SSHWS) |
|
|
| Duration |
February 12 (entered basin) – February 14 |
| Peak intensity |
120 km/h (75 mph) (10-min) 965 hPa (mbar) |
| Tropical depression (Australian scale) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) |
|
|
| Duration |
February 23 – February 26 |
| Peak intensity |
65 km/h (40 mph) (10-min) 1000 hPa (mbar) |
| Category 2 tropical cyclone (Australian scale) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) |
|
|
| Duration |
March 5 – March 7 |
| Peak intensity |
95 km/h (60 mph) (10-min) 985 hPa (mbar) |
| Tropical depression (Australian scale) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) |
|
|
| Duration |
March 13 – March 16 |
| Peak intensity |
65 km/h (40 mph) (10-min) 1000 hPa (mbar) |
The 2001–02 South Pacific cyclone season was a below-average year in which only five named storms formed or entered the South Pacific basin. It began on November 1, 2001 and ended on April 30, 2002. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the southern Pacific Ocean east of 160°E. Additionally, the regional tropical cyclone operational plan defines a tropical cyclone year separately from a tropical cyclone season, and the "tropical cyclone year" runs from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002. The season's sixteen tropical depressions existed within these dates with the first developing on November 29 and the last dissipating on April 22.
The South Pacific Basin, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization, is split into two sub-areas, monitored by separate agencies. The first area is between 160°E and 120°W and north of 25°S are monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) in Nadi. Those that move south of 25°S are monitored by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Wellington, New Zealand. At the start of the season, a new naming policy was introduced by the Tropical Cyclone Committee for the South Pacific and South- East Indian Ocean. The policy stated that a storm attaining gale-force winds in only one quadrant near its center would be named by the Fiji Meteorological Service. This is in contrast to the previous policy in which gale-force winds had to completely surround the center to be named.
Throughout the season, a shift in the Hadley Circulation towards the Tasman Sea resulted in more frequent episodes of strong wind shear and regular pulses of dry air into the deep tropics, significantly hindering tropical cyclogenesis. The below-average activity was also reflected in an unusually low number of damaging storms. Only two systems, Trina and Waka, had significant effects on land. The former caused extensive flooding on Mangaia while the latter was regarded as one of the most damaging storms in the history of Tonga. Approximately $51.3 million in damage was attributed to Waka as well as an indirect fatality, the only tropical cyclone-related death of the year, due to cardiac arrest.
...
Wikipedia
