000:tropical-cyclone-pat&catid=71:press-releases&Itemid=155
Feb 08 |18:01 pm
Tropical Cyclone Pat has formed just south of Manihiki Atoll in the northern
Cook Islands around 1:pm FST (0100 UTC) on 8th February 2010.
The system (08F) originated between Samoa and northern Cooks yesterday
and had gone through a rapid intensification process in the last 12 hours,
forcing its declaration as a tropical cyclone within a short period. It is
currently moving southeast at 10 knots.
TC Pat is presently a Category 1 cyclone with average winds estimated to be 35
knots (65km/hr) and momentary gusts up to 50 knots (95 km/hr) close to
centre. It should intensify further and reach at least Category 2 status within
the next 12 to 18 hours.
Current indications are that TC Pat should continue its southeastward course
for a while before, perhaps, taking a more southerly
curvature due to an intense ridge of high pressure lying to its east.
Northern Cooks is currently placed under a tropical cyclone gale warning. On
its project path, TC Pat may later pose a threat to southern Cooks as well. TC
Pat is the fourth cyclone to occur in the Regional Specified Meteorological
Centre Nadi-Tropical Cyclone Centre (RSMC-TCC) area of responsibility and
the sixth to form in the Southwest Pacific region.
The Fiji Meteorological Office in Nadi says Tropical Cyclone Pat poses no
threat to Fiji.