TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY

1st Quarter 2008 Summary

The 2007 - 2008 South Pacific tropical cyclone season has been near normal. Through April 15, the JTWC numbered 7 tropical cyclones. Of these, 5 were named by the respective Southern Hemisphere agencies. Normally the annual total of numbered tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific is approximately 9, with 6 attaining hurricane intensity and 2 attaining major hurricane status (i.e., 1-minute sustained wind speed of 100 kt or more). Of the seven numbered cyclones to-date, 4 have been of at least hurricane intensity (65 kt), and three of these attained an intensity of 100 kt or more. Typical of La Niña, the distribution of South Pacific tropical cyclones has been mostly west of the International Date Line, with a focus of activity between New Caledonia and Fiji. American Samoa was not adversely affected by any tropical cyclone this cyclone season. While there may yet be one or two more cyclones in the southwest Pacific through June of 2008, they are not likely to affect American Samoa.

Tropical cyclone activity in the western North Pacific has gotten off to a slow start. The JTWC numbered one cyclone in January, and another just recently in mid-April that became the year’s first typhoon. The JMA named TC 02W, Neoguri, their first named TC of 2008. Both TC 01W and TC 02W began as weak disturbances passing through the region of Palau and Yap, and then became numbered cyclones while passing through the central portions of the Philippine archipelago.

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The PEAC Center archives western North Pacific tropical cyclone numbers, track coordinates, and 1 minute average maximum sustained wind taken from operational warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Western North Pacific tropical cyclone names are obtained from warnings issued by the Japan Meteorology Agency (JMA), which is the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for the western North Pacific basin. The PEAC Center archives South Pacific tropical cyclone names, track coordinates, central pressure, and 10 minute average maximum sustained wind estimates from advisories issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers at Brisbane, Nadi, and Wellington. The numbering scheme and the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates are taken from warnings issued by the JTWC. There are sometimes differences in the statistics (e.g., storm maximum intensity) for a given tropical cyclone among the agencies that are noted in this summary.