Severe Tropical Cyclone Lusi was the second severe

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 ...

of the 2013–14 season and affected

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 ...

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 ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The system that was to become Cyclone Lusi was first noted as a tropical disturbance on 7 March, while it was located to the east of Fiji. Over the next three days the system moved towards the north-northeast and gradually developed further, before it was named Lusi, late on 9 March, after it had developed into a tropical cyclone. The system dissipated on 17 March.

Meteorological history

Early on 7 March 2014, the

Fiji Meteorological Service The Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) is a Department of the government of Fiji responsible for providing weather forecasts and is based on the grounds of Nadi Airport in Nadi. The current director of Fiji Meteorological Service is Misaeli Funak ...

reported that Tropical Disturbance 18F had developed about to the west of Nadi. The system was located within a marginally favourable environment for further development, which included low to moderate vertical

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

and favourable

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 ...

s. Over the next two days the system moved towards the north-northwest and slowly consolidated, as

atmospheric convection Atmospheric convection is the vertical transport of heat and moisture in the atmosphere. It occurs when warmer, less dense air rises, while cooler, denser air sinks. This process is driven by parcel-environment instability, meaning that a "par ...

wrapped into the system's low level circulation centre, before RSMC Nadi reported during 9 March that the system had developed into a tropical depression. During that day the system further consolidated as it affected

and moved towards the north-northeast, before 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 ...

initiated warnings and designated the depression as Tropical Cyclone 18P later that day. RSMC Nadi subsequently named the system Lusi at around 23:00 UTC (11:00 FST), after it had developed into a category 1 tropical cyclone on 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 ...

Preparations and impact

Vanuatu

Late on 9 March, ahead of the depression being classified as a tropical cyclone and named Lusi, the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department issued tropical cyclone warnings for the Vanuatu provinces of Torba, Sanma,

Penama Penama is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the northeast of the country and consisting of three major islands: * Ambae Island, Ambae (or Aoba Island, Aoba) * Maewo * Pentecost Island, Pentecost The name Penama is derived from the ...

and

Malampa Malampa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country. It consists of three main islands: Malakula, Ambrym and Paama, and takes its name from the first syllable of their names. It includes a number of other islands ...

. The cyclone killed 10 people and impacted as many as 20,000 people, especially in Torba, Sanma, Penama, Malampa and

Shefa Province Shefa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country and including the islands of Epi (island), Epi and Efate and the Shepherd Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of SHepherd and EFAte. It ...

s. Many low-lying areas were flooded and more than 40 structures were damaged or destroyed. All provinces of the country reported damage to agriculture.

Fiji

On 11 March, a tropical cyclone alert was issued for parts of the Western Division, as Lusi approached the islands from the west. During the next day gale warnings were issued for the Western Division before they were cancelled later that day, as the system turned towards the south sooner than had been expected. As a result, Fiji was spared any direct effects from the cyclone, while the associated trough of low pressure affected the islands until 13 March.

New Zealand

During 9 March, MetService started to warn that a tropical weather system might affect New Zealand by the end of that week. Cyclone Lusi hit New Zealand shores on 13 March. In preparation for the event the New Zealand government advised people to fix loosened things (such as

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that use ...

s), and the Civil Defense team was put on alert. Winds reaching up to 130 km/h were expected to occur in the cities of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, and the east coast of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

was put on high alert. Lusi brought severe winds as it moved southeast towards

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and the northern South Island in the evening of 15 March. On 16 March, the severe gale winds slightly weakened, and Lusi pushed away from

on 17 March. Insured losses across the country amounted to NZ$4 million (US$3 million).

Retirement

Due to the impacts caused by the storm, the name ''Lusi'' was retired and was later replaced by ''Louise''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lusi Tropical cyclones in New Zealand Tropical cyclones in Fiji Tropical cyclones in Vanuatu 2014 in New Zealand 2013–14 South Pacific cyclone season Category 3 South Pacific cyclones Retired South Pacific cyclones Lusi