Domestic flights cancelled as cyclone moves north [1]
Tuesday, February 16, 2016 - 13:48. Updated on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 - 14:25.
Photos by Linny Folau
Real Tonga Airlines cancelled its domestic flights today as Tropical Cyclone Winston cat.2 moves toward the north of Tonga. Fiji Airways also cancelled one international flight scheduled for today as the cyclone lay between Fiji and Tonga.
Meanwhile, Virigin's international flight arrived at Fua'amotu safely this morning, and Air New Zealand's flight to Tongatapu this evening will also go ahead as scheduled.
Tropical Cyclone Winston brought heavy rain to Tongatapu overnight, flooding many areas of the capital Nuku'alofa.
The Fua'amotu Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre issued the following information at 1:15pm:
"TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVISORY NO. 8
A STORM WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR VAVAU.
A GALE WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR TONGATAPU,'EUA,HA'APAI,NIUAFO'OU AND NIUATOPUTAPU.
A HEAVY DAMAGING SWELL WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR ALL TONGA COASTAL WATERS.
A HEAVY RAIN WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR TONGATAPU,'EUA AND HA'APAI AND VAVA'U.
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR TONGATAPU,'EUA,HA'APAI AND VAVA'U.
SITUATION:
TROPICAL CYCLONE WINSTON CATEGORY 2 WAS LOCATED NEAR 20.1SOUTH AND 176.8WEST OR ABOUT 215KM NORTHWEST OF NUKU'ALOFA
AT 10:00AM THIS MORNING. THE CYCLONE IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 26KM/HR(14KNOTS).ON ITS CURRENT TRACK,
THE CYCLONE IS EXPECTED TO LIE 120KM NORTHWEST OF TOFUA OR 190KM NORTHWEST OF LIFUKA OR 160KM WEST-SOUTHWEST OF LATE AT ABOUT 4:00PM THIS AFTERNOON.NEAR ITS CENTRE, THE CYCLONE IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE AN AVERAGEWINDS SPEED OF 95KM/HR (50KNOTS) WITH MOMENTARY GUST OF 130KM/HR(70KTS).
FOR HA'APAI, TONGATAPU AND 'EUA:
DAMAGING GALE FORCE EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS WITH AVERAGE SPEED OF 65-85KM/HR (35-45KNOTS) AND MOMENTARY GUST TO 120KM/HR(65KTS).
PERIODS OF RAIN, HEAVY AT TIMES WITH SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS.VERY ROUGH TO HIGH SEAS. A HEAVY DAMAGING EAST TO SOUTHEAST SWELL AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING, INCLUDING SEAS FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS.
FOR VAVAU:
EXPECT DESTRUCTIVE NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WITH AVERAGE SPEED OF 95KM/HR(50 KNOTS) AND MOMENTARY GUST TO 130KM/HR(70KTS) FROM TONIGHT ONWARDS.PERIODS OF RAIN, HEAVY AT TIMES WITH SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS.VERY ROUGH TO HIGH SEAS BECOMING HIGH TO VERY HIGH FROM TONIGHT. A HEAVY DAMAGING EAST TO SOUTHEAST SWELL DEVELOPING TONIGHT, AND FLASH FLOODING INCLUDING SEAS FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS.
FOR NIUAS:
DAMAGING WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS 65-70KM/HR(35-40KTS) FROM MID-NIGHT TONIGHT.OCCASSIONAL SHOWERS, HEAVY AT TIMES.
ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH SEAS. A HEAVY DAMAGING WEST TO SOUTHWEST SWELL DEVELOPING MID-NIGHT TONIGHT.
TIDE PREDICTIONS:
HIGH TIDE : 02:05PM
LOW TIDE : 08:30PM
THE MEAN SEA LEVEL PRESSURE RECORDED AT FUA'AMOTU AIRPORT AT 01:00PM WAS 1000.4 MILLIBARS AND THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY WAS 80%."