Cyclone Daman
| Category 4 severe tropical cyclone (Aus scale) | |
|---|---|
| Category 3 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Tropical Cyclone Daman near peak intensity
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| Formed | December 2, 2007 |
| Dissipated | December 10, 2007 |
| Highest winds |
10-minute sustained: 185 km/h (115 mph) 1-minute sustained: 205 km/h (125 mph) Gusts: 260 km/h (160 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 925 hPa (mbar); 27.32 inHg |
| Fatalities | None reported |
| Damage | $330,000 (2007 USD) |
| Areas affected | Fiji |
| Part of the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season | |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Daman (RSMC Nadi designation 04F, JTWC designation 05P) was the strongest cyclone of the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season. Cyclone Daman was the fourth tropical depression and the first severe tropical cyclone to form east of longitude 180° during the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season. Due to the severity of the storm, the name Daman was retired and replaced with Denia.
On December 3, the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) in Nadi, Fiji, upgraded a tropical disturbance, located to the west of the Solomon Islands, to Tropical Depression 04F. On December 5, as the depression moved towards the west into the Fijian archipelago, both the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and RSMC Nadi upgraded it to Cyclone Daman. On December 7 the cyclone reached its peak intensity with winds of 185 km/h, (115 mph 10-minute sustained) which made Daman a Category 4 cyclone on the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale. Later that day Daman also reached its peak intensity by 1-minute means with winds of 205 km/h (125 mph) which made it a Category 3 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Early on December 8, Cyclone Daman brushed by the Fijian island of Cikobia, causing damage to housing, crops and vegetation. Daman then weakened the next day into a tropical depression and dissipated on December 10.
Late on December 2, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) started to monitor an area of disturbed weather that was located within the South Pacific convergence zone to the northwest of Apia, Samoa. Located beneath an anticyclone, the system maintained deep convection near its elongated but well-defined circulation center. Early the next day, the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in Nadi, Fiji, (RSMC Nadi), started to monitor the area of disturbed weather as Tropical Depression 04F. Over the next two days, the depression moved towards the west, conditions surrounding the depression barely changed and as a result the depression steadily intensified. Early on December 5, the system had convective bands spiraling into and wrapping tightly around the low level circulation center. As a result of this, the JTWC started advisories on Tropical Cyclone 05P, with winds equivalent to a tropical storm. At 0200 UTC, RSMC Nadi reported that the tropical depression had intensified into a category one tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale and named it as Daman. During that day Daman passed over Rotuma island while gradually intensifying further.
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