10th December 2020 The Tonga Meteorological Service (TMS) is momentarily monitoring the first Tropical Depression (TD 01F) for this Tropical Cyclone season 2020-2021 developing in our neighboring pacific island countries that has the potential to develop into a possible Tropical Cyclone (TC) in the next coming days ahead.
This Tropical Depression (TD 01F) was located at about 95 kilometers directly North of the islands of Wallis and Futuna at 7am this morning. The system is expected to continue to move westward and to remain to the far Northern quadrants of Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou islands today. As this system moves westwards passing to the North of the Niuas, Strong East to Northeast winds are expected and will bring occasional heavy rain and thunderstorms over the Niuas.
Meanwhile, another tropical low-pressure system is located to the West of Rotuma, in the Fiji Islands. This low-pressure system is also likely to further develop into a Tropical Depression (TD02F) in the next 24 to 48 hours. Looking towards the weekend, between Friday to Saturday. Predictions is that these two depression would merge. The dominant system from this merging process is predicted to gradually intensify and to be confined within the maritime waters between Fiji and Vanuatu by this Sunday.
Whilst the predicted movements of these system is expected to track closer to the maritime waters between Fiji and Vanuatu in the next three days for now and poses no immediate threats to Tonga, apart from the current meteorological warning for Tonga that is currently active. It is very important to know that meteorological situations associated to these systems can change rapidly or slowly progress over time. Therefore, the central and southern islands groups of Tonga, especially Ha’apai, Tongatapu and ‘Eua should remain vigilant to any Tropical Cyclone activity that may impact these islands next week.
Currently, there are strong wind warnings for all of Tonga Land Areas and Maritime waters, small craft advisory for all of Tonga maritime waters and. A heavy rain and flash flood advisory for the Niuas’ land areas. These warnings are currently on hold and will be upgraded or cancelled when necessary based on the meteorological settings of our environment as we move forward in time from here.
Based on these current warnings, impacts to the transportation sector, especially domestic flights and inter-island shipping operations are very much likely to be affected. Mariners are needed to be extra cautious while venturing or planning to sail out to sea as we expect the strong winds to prolong over our Tonga waters for the remainder of this week with rough seas and moderate swells. Sea conditions may not be safe for operators of small crafts. Routine outdoor activities should be planned very well as strong winds and periods of occasional rain may affect your outdoor activities.
Make sure to regularly check our latest weather forecasts on our website and social media over the coming days for the latest forecast updates and information. For more details and the latest on weather, please contact the Tonga Meteorological Services on +67635009 or visit our Tonga MET website at www.met.gov.to or follow us on facebook at Tonga Meteorological Services, Government of Tonga.
ENDS
For further information please contact the Meteorology Division on 35355 or metstaff@met.gov.to. More information is also available at www.met.gov.to