User talk:Jason Rees/2004-05 SPAC

February, 2005, was one of the most remarkable months ever in the South Pacific tropical cyclone basin. Four intense tropical cyclones formed, all east of the International Dateline. The only prior season to have seen even three intense cyclones roam waters of the Southeast Pacific during an entire season was in 1982-1983. Four intense cyclones in this portion of the basin sets a new seasonal record--not to mention a new monthly record--going back to 1960. (I am here defining the term "intense cyclone" to mean a 10-min avg MSW of 90 kts or higher, which is  the criterion used by Meteo France in the Southwest Indian Ocean.  This  is also equivalent to a 1-min avg MSW of 100 kts, which is essentially  the threshold for a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson scale.)

Many South Seas islands were adversely affected by Cyclones Meena, Nancy, Olaf and Percy, ranging from Tokelau in the north to Rarotonga in the south. Meena's punch was felt most keenly in the Southern Cooks with Rarotonga being the most severely affected. The same general area was the target of Nancy only a week later with Aitutaki Atoll, Rarotonga and Mangaia being affected. Olaf and Percy besieged islands farther north, with Olaf battering some islands in American Samoa while Percy devastated the atolls of Tokelau, Swain's Island (belonging to American Samoa), and Nassau and Pukapuka Atolls.

RSMC Nadi does not utilize a classification system for tropical cyclones as do many TCWCs. To put these four Big Ones in perspective, I thought I would classify them according to the Meteo France system used for Southwest Indian Ocean cyclones, the Australian Cyclone Severity Scale, and the Saffir/Simpson Scale utilized in the Atlantic and North- east Pacific basins. If they had occurred in the Southwest Indian Ocean, Meena and Nancy would have been classified as "intense tropical cyclones" (MSW >= 90 kts) while Olaf and Percy would have been referred to as "very intense tropical cyclones" (MSW > 115 kts). All four of the cyclones reached Category 5 on the Australian scale. With regard to Saffir/ Simpson categories, Meena and Nancy would be strong Category 4 hurricanes while Olaf and Percy would be classified as Category 5 hurricanes. Also, Olaf and Percy would have been called super typhoons had they occurred in the Northwest Pacific basin, and Meena was borderline--JTWC's highest MSW was 125 kts (1-min avg), but Fiji's peak 10-min avg MSW of 115 kts converts to 130 kts (1-min avg).