Tropical cyclone update
There have been three tropical cyclones to date. The first was 'Tam' which occurred north of Viti Levu, Fiji, on 12 January, tracking towards Tonga on the 13th, and then southeast to pass west of Niue, with gale force winds. 'Urmil' was next, on the 15th, with maximum sustained winds of 85 km/h – but well south of Niue. Tropical cyclone 'Jim' was the third occurrence this season, with sustained wind speeds of 150 km/h (hurricane force). 'Jim' was located in the western Coral Sea on 28 January, tracked east, north of New Caledonia, and then southeast to pass south of Vanuatu. There are on average two to three tropical cyclone occurrences per month in both February and March. The March issue of the ICU will provide an update on information relating to any occurrences of tropical cyclones in the region.
Tropical pacific rainfall - January 2006
| Territory and station name | January 2006 rainfall total (mm) | Long-term average (mm) | January 2006 percent of average | Lowest on record (mm) | Highest on record (mm) | Records began |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | ||||||
| Cairns Airport | 333.6 | 395 | 84 | 86 | 1417 | 1941 |
| Townsville Airport | 451.2 | 271 | 166 | 9 | 1142 | 1940 |
| Brisbane Airport | 174.2 | 158 | 110 | 10 | 804 | 1929 |
| Sydney Airport | 68.6 | 100 | 69 | 1929 | ||
| Cook Islands | ||||||
| Rarotonga Airport | 271.7 | 226 | 120 | 24 | 668 | 1929 |
| Rarotonga EWS | 232.4 | 226 | 103 | 53 | 204 | 2000 |
| Fiji | ||||||
| Rotuma | 954.1 | 355 | 269 | 28 | 679 | 1912 |
| Udu Point | 519.0 | 313 | 166 | 17 | 991 | 1946 |
| Nadi | 362.5 | 343 | 106 | 13 | 981 | 1942 |
| Nausori | 242.6 | 365 | 66 | 108 | 686 | 1956 |
| Ono-I-Lau | 288.9 | 179 | 161 | 16 | 381 | 1943 |
| French Polynesia | ||||||
| Hiva Hoa, Atuona | 72.8 | 158 | 46 | 17 | 883 | 1951 |
| Bora Bora, Motu | 227.0 | 247 | 92 | 73 | 690 | 1976 |
| Tahiti – Faa’a | 263.8 | 273 | 97 | 46 | 956 | 1919 |
| Tuamotu, Takaroa | 75.8 | 192 | 39 | 55 | 681 | 1953 |
| Gambier, Rikitea | 217.4 | 146 | 149 | 14 | 292 | 1952 |
| Tubuai | 220.4 | 203 | 109 | 20 | 536 | 1953 |
| Rapa | 278.6 | 239 | 117 | 25 | 696 | 1951 |
| New Caledonia | ||||||
| Ile Art, Belep | 218.4 | 253 | 86 | 21 | 517 | 1962 |
| Koumac | 164.0 | 167 | 98 | 4 | 578 | 1951 |
| Ouloup | 322.0 | 177 | 182 | 36 | 608 | 1966 |
| Ouanaham | 367.6 | 180 | 204 | 25 | 576 | 1961 |
| Poindimie | 555.8 | 370 | 150 | 43 | 1245 | 1965 |
| La Roche | 262.8 | 190 | 138 | 28 | 578 | 1956 |
| La Tontouta | 130.6 | 123 | 106 | 6 | 380 | 1949 |
| Noumea | 69.3 | 107 | 65 | 0 | 383 | 1863 |
| Moue | 248.8 | 171 | 145 | 34 | 711 | 1972 |
| Kiribati | ||||||
| Tarawa | 15.2 | 250 | 6 | 2 | 825 | 1946 |
| New Zealand | ||||||
| Kaitaia | 89.8 | 82 | 110 | 2 | 287 | 1985 |
| Whangarei Airport | 156.6 | 84 | 186 | 1 | 315 | 1937 |
| Auckland Airport | 79.2 | 67 | 118 | 4 | 206 | 1962 |
| Niue | ||||||
| Hanan Airport | 454.8 | 256 | 178 | 59 | 499 | 1996 |
| North Tasman | ||||||
| Lord Howe Island | 66.4 | 115 | 58 | 10 | 291 | 1886 |
| Norfolk Island | 63.2 | 91 | 69 | 8 | 340 | 1921 |
| Raoul Island | 30.4 | 130 | 23 | 2 | 464 | 1937 |
| Tonga | ||||||
| Niuatoputapu | 419.5 | 276 | 152 | 45 | 608 | 1947 |
| Nuku’alofa | 325.0 | 174 | 187 | 10 | 582 | 1944 |
| Lupepau’u | 322.1 | 288 | 112 | 82 | 686 | 1995 |
| Fua’amotu Airport | 193.8 | 201 | 96 | 4 | 533 | 1980 |
| Tuvalu | ||||||
| Nui Island | 78.4 | 422 | 19 | 72 | 890 | 1941 |
| Funafuti | 380.8 | 386 | 99 | 166 | 1142 | 1927 |
| Nanumea | 64.1 | 357 | 18 | 39 | 1143 | 1941 |
| Nuilakita | 755.2 | 376 | 201 | 73 | 816 | 1941 |
| Vanuatu | ||||||
| Pekoa | 238.2 | 324 | 74 | 53 | 671 | 1951 |
| Lamap | 110.3 | 252 | 44 | 39 | 678 | 1960 |
| Bauerfield | 157.3 | 249 | 63 | 28 | 434 | 1985 |
| Tanna/Burtonfield | 200.0 | 162.123 | 19.8 | 373 | 1961 | |
| Aneityum | 292.0 | 276 | 106 | 18 | 817 | 1958 |
| Wallis & Futuna | ||||||
| Wallis island, Hififo | 526.4 | 334 | 158 | 126 | 573 | 1951 |
| Maopoopo, Futuna Island | 191.8 | 331 | 58 |
Rainfall totalling 200 percent or more is considered well above average. Totals of 40 percent or less are normally well below average. Highlighted values are new records.
Data are published as received and may be subject to change after undergoing quality control checks. The data in italics are obtained from synoptic weather reports. These can sometimes differ from the true values, due to communications or station outage, etc.