Severe Tropical Cyclone Prema
Category 4 severe tropical cyclone (Aus scale)
Category 4 tropical cyclone (SSHWS)
Satellite image of Cyclone Prema
Formed26 March 1993 (1993-03-26)
Dissipated6 April 1993 (1993-04-06)
Highest winds10-minute sustained: 185 km/h (115 mph)
1-minute sustained: 230 km/h (145 mph)
Lowest pressure940 hPa (mbar); 27.76 inHg
Fatalities3
Damage$5 million (1993 USD)
Areas affectedVanuatu, New Caledonia
Part of the 1992–93 South Pacific cyclone season

Severe Tropical Cyclone Prema was among the worst tropical cyclones to hit Vanuatu since 1987's Cyclone Uma.[1] The twenty-third storm of the season, Prema formed early on 26 March 1993 as a weak tropical depression.[2]

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

During 25 March, the Fiji Meteorological Service reported that a tropical depression, had developed within an otherwise inactive monsoon trough, about 200 km (125 mi) to the west of the Fijian dependency of Rotuma.[3][4] During the next day the system initially moved north-westwards, before it turned and moved south-westwards as it organised and developed further.[3]

[5] During that day the depression moved towards the northwest, before it turned and started to move towards the southwest during 26 March as it gradually developed further. During 27 March, both TCWC Nadi and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that the depression had developed into a tropical cyclone with Nadi naming it as Prema.[6]

Preparations and impact

Severe Tropical Cyclone Prema was the first named tropical cyclone to affect Vanuatu after six systems had affected the archipelago during the previous season. Prema affected the island nation between 29 –30 March, where it caused extensive damage parts of Shefa Province, including on Epi, Efate and the Shepherd Islands.

Due to the impact of this system, the name Prema was subsequently retired, by the World Meteorological Organization's RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ National Tidal Facility (September 1997). "The South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Change Newsletter". South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. p. 9. Retrieved 13 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator Suva Fiji (March 2002). "Vanuatu — UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK (2003–2007)". United Nations. Retrieved 13 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b Tropical Cyclone Prema, March 24 – April 1, 1993 (Report). Fiji Meteorological Service. 20 May 1996. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  4. ^ Darwin Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (1993). "March 1993" (PDF). Darwin Tropical Diagnostic Statement. Australian Bureau of Meteorology. 12 (3): 2. ISSN 1321-4233. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  5. ^ National Tidal Facility Australia (2002). "Pacific Country Report Sea Level & Climate: Their Present State Vanuatu" (PDF). Flinders University. p. 15. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  6. ^ "1993 Tropical Cyclone Prema (1993083S12181)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  7. ^ RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee (2023). Tropical Cyclone Operational Plan for the South-East Indian Ocean and the Southern Pacific Ocean 2023 (PDF) (Report). World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 23 October 2023.

External links

Tropical cyclones of the 1992–93 South Pacific cyclone season
Retired South Pacific cyclone names
Category 4 South Pacific severe tropical cyclones
Categories