REWA
1993-94 season · AU199394_02U
History
Severe Tropical Cyclone Rewa was an exceptionally long-lived system that survived 28 days over the Coral Sea and South Pacific between late December 1993 and January 1994, crossing between the Australian region and South Pacific basin three times. The Fiji Meteorological Service began tracking a tropical depression within the Intertropical Convergence Zone roughly 575 km south-east of Nauru on 26 December. It organised steadily while drifting west-south-west and was named Rewa on 28 December. The young cyclone passed through the Solomon Islands on 29 December, crossing the 160th meridian into the Australian region, where the Bureau of Meteorology assumed warning responsibility, and also affected the south-eastern islands of Papua New Guinea.
Turning south to run parallel with the Queensland coast, Rewa deepened rapidly, reaching severe tropical cyclone status with a visible eye by 31 December. On 2 January it attained its first peak as a Category 5 system, with 10-minute sustained winds of 205 km/h and a central pressure of 920 hPa. Increasing wind shear weakened it from 3 January, and the cyclone swung south-east, re-entering the South Pacific basin on 4 January. It made landfall near Saint Vincent Bay on New Caledonia's south-west coast on 5 January, emerging near Thio the following day, by which time it had fallen to depression strength.
The remnant low was steered north-west toward Papua New Guinea and re-entered the Australian region on 10 January, redeveloping into a cyclone by 13 January near Tagula Island after tracing a long loop. Turning south-east, Rewa intensified rapidly and regained Category 5 status on 16 January with winds again estimated at 205 km/h. Forecasters expected landfall near Mackay, but an upper-level trough diverted the weakening system south-eastward, and it tracked down the Queensland coast before becoming extratropical on 20–21 January. Its remnants brought heavy rain to New Zealand around 23 January.
Rewa caused 22 deaths across the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and New Zealand, including nine presumed drowned near Rossel Island, eight in Papua New Guinea floods and four in Queensland. The name was subsequently retired.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (99 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-12-28 06:00:00 | 1 | -9.5, 165.5 | 997 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1993-12-28 12:00:00 | 1 | -9.8, 165.0 | 995 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1993-12-28 18:00:00 | 1 | -10.0, 163.5 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1993-12-29 00:00:00 | 1 | -10.0, 162.5 | 995 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1993-12-29 06:00:00 | 1 | -9.6, 161.9 | 995 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1993-12-29 12:00:00 | 1 | -10.2, 160.5 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1993-12-29 18:00:00 | 1 | -10.8, 159.0 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1993-12-30 00:00:00 | 1 | -11.2, 157.5 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1993-12-30 06:00:00 | 1 | -11.5, 155.8 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1993-12-30 12:00:00 | 1 | -11.5, 155.1 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1993-12-30 18:00:00 | 1 | -11.6, 154.5 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1993-12-31 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 153.6 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1993-12-31 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.3, 153.1 | 970 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1993-12-31 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 153.7 | 965 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1993-12-31 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 153.8 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1994-01-01 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.5, 153.0 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1994-01-01 06:00:00 | 1 | -14.0, 153.0 | 965 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1994-01-01 12:00:00 | 1 | -14.6, 152.9 | 955 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1994-01-01 18:00:00 | 1 | -15.0, 153.0 | 940 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1994-01-02 00:00:00 | 1 | -15.5, 153.5 | 930 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1994-01-02 06:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 153.6 | 925 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1994-01-02 12:00:00 | 1 | -16.9, 153.9 | 920 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1994-01-02 18:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 154.1 | 920 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1994-01-03 00:00:00 | 1 | -18.7, 154.2 | 920 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1994-01-03 06:00:00 | 1 | -19.5, 154.6 | 925 hPa | 51 km/h |
| 1994-01-03 12:00:00 | 1 | -20.0, 155.0 | 930 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1994-01-03 18:00:00 | 1 | -20.7, 156.2 | 940 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1994-01-04 00:00:00 | 1 | -21.3, 157.5 | 945 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1994-01-04 06:00:00 | 1 | -21.7, 158.9 | 950 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1994-01-04 12:00:00 | 1 | -21.8, 160.5 | 950 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1994-01-04 18:00:00 | 1 | -21.8, 162.0 | 955 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1994-01-05 00:00:00 | 1 | -22.0, 163.0 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1994-01-05 06:00:00 | 1 | -22.0, 164.2 | 975 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1994-01-05 12:00:00 | 1 | -22.0, 165.1 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1994-01-05 18:00:00 | 3 | -21.7, 166.4 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1994-01-06 00:00:00 | 4 | -21.5, 166.6 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1994-01-06 06:00:00 | 1 | -21.4, 167.0 | 990 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1994-01-06 12:00:00 | 1 | -21.3, 167.4 | 990 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1994-01-06 18:00:00 | 1 | -21.1, 167.7 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-07 00:00:00 | 1 | -20.7, 168.0 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-07 06:00:00 | 1 | -20.4, 168.2 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-07 12:00:00 | 1 | -20.0, 168.3 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-07 18:00:00 | 1 | -19.6, 168.2 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-08 00:00:00 | 1 | -19.4, 168.0 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-08 06:00:00 | 1 | -19.0, 167.4 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-08 12:00:00 | 1 | -18.6, 166.6 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-08 18:00:00 | 1 | -18.3, 166.0 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-09 00:00:00 | 1 | -17.0, 165.0 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-09 06:00:00 | 1 | -17.6, 164.3 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-09 12:00:00 | 1 | -17.0, 163.4 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-09 18:00:00 | 1 | -16.6, 162.4 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-10 00:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 161.0 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-10 06:00:00 | 1 | -15.9, 161.6 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-10 12:00:00 | 1 | -15.5, 160.1 | 1001 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-10 18:00:00 | 1 | -15.0, 159.0 | 1000 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-11 00:00:00 | 1 | -15.0, 157.5 | 998 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-11 06:00:00 | 1 | -15.0, 156.1 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-11 12:00:00 | 1 | -14.4, 154.6 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-11 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.5, 153.8 | 995 hPa | — |
| 1994-01-12 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 153.5 | 1000 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1994-01-12 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.4, 153.4 | 1000 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1994-01-12 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.1, 153.4 | 1002 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1994-01-12 18:00:00 | 1 | -11.8, 153.4 | 1002 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1994-01-13 00:00:00 | 1 | -11.5, 153.4 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1994-01-13 05:00:00 | 1 | -11.4, 153.2 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1994-01-13 15:00:00 | 1 | -11.2, 153.9 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1994-01-13 22:00:00 | 1 | -12.4, 154.6 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1994-01-14 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 154.4 | 985 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1994-01-14 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.1, 154.5 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1994-01-14 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 154.7 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1994-01-14 18:00:00 | 1 | -12.4, 154.8 | 975 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1994-01-15 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 155.1 | 975 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1994-01-15 06:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 155.6 | 960 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1994-01-15 12:00:00 | 1 | -13.9, 155.9 | 940 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1994-01-15 18:00:00 | 1 | -14.8, 156.3 | 935 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1994-01-16 00:00:00 | 1 | -15.7, 156.8 | 930 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1994-01-16 06:00:00 | 1 | -16.4, 157.3 | 925 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1994-01-16 12:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 157.6 | 920 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1994-01-16 18:00:00 | 1 | -17.9, 157.9 | 920 hPa | 51 km/h |
| 1994-01-17 00:00:00 | 1 | -18.5, 157.6 | 920 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1994-01-17 06:00:00 | 1 | -19.0, 157.0 | 930 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1994-01-17 12:00:00 | 1 | -19.9, 155.6 | 945 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1994-01-17 18:00:00 | 1 | -20.4, 154.4 | 960 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1994-01-18 00:00:00 | 1 | -20.7, 153.3 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1994-01-18 06:00:00 | 1 | -20.9, 152.5 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1994-01-18 12:00:00 | 1 | -20.9, 152.0 | 965 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1994-01-18 18:00:00 | 1 | -20.9, 151.8 | 965 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1994-01-19 00:00:00 | 1 | -21.1, 151.6 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1994-01-19 06:00:00 | 1 | -22.0, 152.0 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1994-01-19 12:00:00 | 1 | -22.6, 152.1 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1994-01-19 18:00:00 | 1 | -22.9, 152.1 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1994-01-20 00:00:00 | 1 | -23.6, 152.7 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1994-01-20 06:00:00 | 1 | -24.2, 153.5 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1994-01-20 12:00:00 | 1 | -24.6, 154.4 | 980 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1994-01-20 18:00:00 | 1 | -25.2, 155.1 | 985 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1994-01-21 00:00:00 | 1 | -26.3, 155.7 | 985 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1994-01-21 06:00:00 | 1 | -27.0, 157.0 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1994-01-21 12:00:00 | 1 | -27.5, 157.9 | — | 15 km/h |
| 1994-01-21 18:00:00 | 1 | -28.5, 158.8 | — | 13 km/h |