Cyclone Winston
Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere on record, as well as the strongest to make landfall on record, and the most intense and longest lasting tropical cyclone worldwide in 2016. Winston was, at the time, the costliest tropical cyclone on record in the South Pacific basin, until it was surpassed by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.[1] The system was first noted as a tropical disturbance on 7 February 2016, when it was located to the northwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu. Over the next few days, the system gradually developed as it moved southeast, acquiring gale-force winds by 11 February. The following day, it underwent rapid intensification and attained ten-minute maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h (109 mph). Less favourable environmental conditions prompted weakening thereafter. After turning northeast on 14 February, Winston stalled to the north of Tonga on 17 February. Due to a change in higher level steering, the storm drifted back to the west. In the process, Winston again rapidly intensified, reaching Category 5 intensity on both the Australian tropical cyclone scale and the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale on 19 February. The storm passed directly over Vanua Balavu, where a national record wind gust of 306 km/h (190 mph) was observed.
Meteorological history
7 February 2016
25 February 2016
3 March 2016
280 km/h (175 mph)
285 km/h (180 mph)
44 total
$1.4 billion (2016 USD)
(Second-costliest cyclone in the South Pacific basin)
Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Niue, Queensland
The cyclone reached its peak intensity on 20 February, with ten-minute sustained winds of 280 km/h (170 mph) and a pressure of 884 hPa (mbar; 26.10 inHg), shortly before making landfall on Viti Levu, Fiji.[2] Thereafter, the storm slowly weakened within a less favourable environment; the system turned southeast during this time, though remained well away from Fiji. It later degenerated into a remnant low, with some subtropical characteristics, on 24 February as it turned to the west and later northwest. The system persisted for more than a week over the Coral Sea before ultimately moving over Queensland, Australia and dissipating on 3 March, 26 days after being classified a tropical disturbance.
In advance of the storm's arrival in Fiji, numerous shelters were opened, and a nationwide curfew was instituted during the evening of 20 February. Striking Fiji at Category 5 intensity on 20 February, Winston inflicted extensive damage on many islands and killed 44 people. Communications were temporarily lost with at least six islands, with some remaining isolated more than two days after the storm's passage. A total of 40,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and approximately 350,000 people—roughly 40 percent of Fiji's population—were significantly impacted by the storm. Total damage from Winston amounted to FJ$2.98 billion (US$1.4 billion). The nation's government declared a state of emergency on 20 February, which remained in place for 60 days. Immediately following the cyclone, the governments of Australia and New Zealand provided logistical support and relief packages. In the following weeks, a coalition of international support, including intergovernmental agencies, brought tens of millions of dollars in aid and hundreds of tons of supplies to residents in Fiji.
Background[edit]
Though frequented by tropical cyclones in general, the main islands of Fiji—Viti Levu and Vanua Levu—are seldom impacted by intense storms like Winston.[3] Before Winston, the strongest storm to affect the main islands since records began in 1941 was Evan in December 2012, which skirted the western coast of Viti Levu as a Category 4 system on both the Australian scale and the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale.[4] Also before Winston, the strongest storm to make landfall on either Viti Levu or Vanua Levu was Nigel in 1985, with ten-minute sustained winds of 150 km/h (95 mph) and one-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), Category 3 on both scales.[3] Winston is the deadliest storm to affect the nation of Fiji since Cyclone Meli in 1979, which claimed 53 lives.[5]
The relative lack of strong tropical cyclones affecting the capital city of Suva, located along the southeastern coast of Viti Levu, led to complacency among residents. Many assume that strong storms are confined to northern and western areas. With Winston approaching Fiji from the east and directly threatening Suva as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone, Angela Fritz of The Washington Post called the storm a worst-case scenario.[3]