Island Climate Update 92 - May 2008

A sample of tropical cyclone track data being digitized (Courtesy of the Fiji Meteorological Service).
A Consolidated High Quality Database of Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclones
Howard J.

An overview of the present climate in the tropical South Pacific Islands, with an outlook for the coming months, to assist in dissemination of climate information in the Pacific region.
Number 92 – May 2008
April’s climate
South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) extended from Papua New Guinea, over New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the northeast of New Zealand, and was displaced well southwest of normal.
Suppressed convection from Western Kiribati to Eastern Kiribati and about the Equator with low rainfall, especially near Nauru.
Below normal rainfall for the northern part of the Souther

Climate developments in April 2008
Outgoing Long-wave Radiation anomalies for April 2008. (Click for enlargement and detail)
The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) extended from Papua New Guinea southeast to Vanuatu and New Caledonia and southwest of Tonga and Fiji to the northeast of New Zealand, with an overall displaced position much further south and west than normal for April.

Tropical rainfall outlook: May to July 2008
Rainfall outlook map for May to July 2008. (Click for enlargement)
La Niña conditions are still very likely to influence rainfall patterns during this period. A large area of suppressed convection is very likely along the equatorial Pacific from Western Kiribati to Eastern Kiribati, including Tuvalu, the Northern Cook Islands, Tuamotu, and the Marquesas Islands.

Tropical Pacific rainfall - April 2008
Territory and station name
April 2008 rainfall
total (mm)
April 2008 percent
of average
Australia
Cairns Airport
188.2
99
Townsville Airport
218.2
352
Brisbane Airport
16.8
19
Sydney Airport
146.6
150
Cook Islands
Penrhyn
124.2
61
Aitutaki
36.2
17
Rarotonga Airport
208.3
99
Fiji
Rotuma Island
279
95
Udu Point
151.0
55
Nadi Airport
192
120
Nausori
260
73
French Polynesia
Hiva Hoa, Atuona
118.4
68
Bora Bora
246.8
134
Tahiti – Faa’a
81.8
71
Tuamotu, Takaroa
72.4
61
Gambier, Rikitea
70.6
4

Sources of South Pacific rainfall data
This bulletin is a multi-national project with important collaboration from the following Pacific nations:
American Samoa
Australia
Cook Islands
Fiji
French Polynesia
Kiribati
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niue
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Island
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Requests for Pacific island climate data should be directed to the Meteorological Services concerned.
Acknowledgements
This bulletin is produced by NIWA and made possible with financial support from the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID), with addi