Island Climate Update 96 - September 2008

Participants of the Island Climate Update workshop, Vanuatu.
Summary of the Island Climate Update end–user workshop in Vanuatu
Andrew Lorrey (NIWA), Jim Salinger (NIWA), and Salesa Kaniaha (VMS)
The first Island Climate Update (ICU) end-user consultation workshop was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu on May 13–15, 2008. This workshop was hosted by the Vanuatu Meteorological Service (VMS), with the primary aim to interact with climate information end-users and determine their needs.

Climate developments in August 2008
Outgoing Long-wave Radiation anomalies for August 2008. (Click for enlargement and detail)
The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) continued to exhibit diminished activity in August relative to previous months. Only a small region of enhanced rainfall was observed in satellite data during August 2008, centred near Papua New Guinea. A region of suppressed convection expanded south of the Equator, and extends from Nauru and Western Kiribati to Eastern Kiribati, and southeast to the Southern Cook Islands and Society Islands.

Tropical rainfall outlook: September to November 2008
Rainfall outlook map for September to November 2008. (Click for enlargement)
Sea surface temperature outlook map for September to November 2008. (Click for enlargement)
La Niña conditions have dissipated in the equatorial and subtropical southwest Pacific.

Tropical Pacific rainfall - August 2008
Territory and station name
August 2008 rainfall
total (mm)
August 2008 percent
of average
Australia
Cairns Airport
2
8
Townsville Airport
0
0
Brisbane Airport
16
37
Sydney Airport
44
56
Cook Islands
Penrhyn
82
43
Aitutaki
N/A
N/A
Rarotonga Airport
41
113
Fiji
Rotuma Island
236
113
Udu Point
49
58
Nadi Airport
3
4
Nausori
126
86
French Polynesia
Hiva Hoa, Atuona
82
58
Bora Bora
21
40
Tahiti – Faa’a
15
31
Tuamotu, Takaroa
148
238
Gambier, Rikitea
67
40
Tubuai
69
50
Rapa
117
48
Kir

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 96 – September 2008
August’s climate
The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) was not as well-defined in August as in previous months.
Very suppressed convection from Western Kiribati to Eastern Kiribati and south of the Equator from Nauru to the Northern Cook Islands.
Well–below normal rainfall for most areas in the South Pacific, including Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Fiji.
El Ni&#24

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