# 2024–25 South Pacific cyclone season

The 2024–25 South Pacific cyclone season is an ongoing weather event in the South Pacific Ocean to the east of 160°E. The season officially started on November 1, 2024, and will end on April 30, 2025; however a tropical cyclone could form at any time between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, and would count towards the season total. During the season, tropical cyclones will be officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service, Australian Bureau of Meteorology and New Zealand's MetService. The United States Armed Forces through the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) will also monitor the basin and issue unofficial warnings for American interests. The FMS attaches a number and an F suffix to tropical disturbances that form in or move into the basin while the JTWC designates significant tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix. The BoM, FMS and MetService all use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale and estimate windspeeds with a period of approximately ten minutes, while the JTWC estimates sustained winds over a 1-minute period, which are subsequently compared to the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS).

## Seasonal forecasts

| Source/Record | Region | Tropical Cyclone | Severe Tropical Cyclones |
| Records |||||
| Average (1969–70 – 2023–24): | 160°E – 120°W | 7 | 3 |
| Record high: | 160°E – 120°W | 1997–98: 16 | 1982–83: 9 |
| Record low: | 160°E – 120°W | 1990–91: 2 | 2008–09: 0 |
| Predictions |||||
| NIWA October | 135°E – 120°W | 9–14 | 4–8 |
| FMS Whole | 160°E – 120°W | 5–6 | 1–2 |
| FMS Western | 160°E – 180° | 2–5 | 1–2 |
| FMS Eastern | 180° – 120°W | 1–2 | 0–1 |
Ahead of the season officially starting on November 1, the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) and New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), both issued a tropical cyclone outlook that discussed the upcoming season. These outlooks took into account a variety of factors such as a developing weak to moderate La Niña event and what had happened in previous seasons such as 1983–84, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2016–17 and 2017–18. The Southwest Pacific tropical cyclone outlook issued by New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in conjunction with MetService and various other Pacific meteorological services, predicted that six to ten tropical cyclones would occur over the South Pacific Ocean between 135°E and 120°W. The outlook also predicted that three to four of these tropical cyclones would intensify further and become either a Category three, four or five severe tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale. In addition to contributing towards the Southwest Pacific tropical cyclone outlook, the FMS predicted that between five and six tropical cyclones would occur within the basin, while one or two of these tropical cyclones were expected to intensify further and become either a category three, four or five severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. Both outlooks also predicted that the majority of systems would occur to the west of the International Dateline, which as a result meant that the Solomon Islands had a normal to elevated risk of being impacted by a tropical cyclone. It was also predicted that Vanuatu and New Caledonia had a normal chance of being impacted by a tropical cyclone while Fiji, Niue, Samoa, American Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna had a normal to reduced chance of being impacted by a tropical cyclone.

## Seasonal summary
### Background

This season's ACE index, as of March 19, is approximately 11.8 units. This number represents sum of the squares of the maximum sustained wind speed (knots) for all named storms while they are at least tropical storm intensity, divided by 10,000. Therefore, tropical depressions are not included.

### Early season

The season began abnormally late, the first system of the season, Tropical Depression 01F formed in late December. The storm eventually made landfall in Fiji and dissipated during the last few days of the year. Tropical Disturbances 02F and 03F were designated on December 31 and January 5 respectively, both stayed out to sea moving southeastwards before both dissipating 3 days later.
The first named storm of the season, Tropical Cyclone Pita formed on January 9. The storm dropped heavy rains that resulted in flooding across Samoa and Fiji, isolated flooding occurred in the latter nation including the collapse of a bridge.

## Systems
### Tropical Disturbance 02F

On 31 December, a low-pressure area formed on the sea northeastern of Australia. It became a tropical disturbance on the same day.

### Tropical Disturbance 03F

On January 5, a low-pressure area formed near Samoa. The Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) noticed it and designated it as a tropical disturbance on the same day, stating it lied within a low sheared environment with good upper divergence, and over sea surface temperature at 30°C. FMS analysed the potential for tropical cyclone development to be low to moderate. Later that day, the FMS downgraded it to a very low chance. After heading southeastward, it became extratropical on 8 January, causing the FMS to cease advisories.

### Tropical Cyclone Pita

The Fiji Meteorological Service named Cyclone Pita as the first tropical cyclone of the season. The storm passed over Niue and Cook Islands before being downgraded to a depression.
Heavy rains associated with the tropical cyclone caused flooding in Fiji and Samoa. In Fiji, this flooding resulted in isolated damages, including the collapse of a bridge, although no fatalities were reported.

### Tropical Cyclone Rae

On 22 February, the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) designated Tropical Depression 09F and later had a moderate to high chance to become a tropical cyclone. On 23 February at 06:00 UTC, the Fiji Meteorological Service named Tropical Cyclone Rae.

### Other systems

On December 13, a subtropical cyclone formed near the Cook Islands and was designated 95P by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. It transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on December 17.

## Storm names

Within the Southern Pacific, a tropical depression is judged to have reached tropical cyclone intensity should it reach winds of 65 km/h (40 mph) and it is evident that gales are occurring at least halfway around the center. Tropical depressions intensifying into a tropical cyclone between the Equator and 26°S and between 160°E - 120°W are named by the FMS; should a tropical depression intensify to the south of 26°S between 160°E and 120°W it will be named in conjunction with the FMS by MetService. Should a tropical cyclone move out of the basin and into the Australian region it will retain its original name. The names that will be used for the 2024–25 season are listed below:
| Pita Rae Seru Tam (unused) Urmil (unused) Vaianu (unused) | Wati (unused) Xavier (unused) Yani (unused) Zita (unused) Arthur (unused) Becky (unused) |

## Season effects

This table lists all the storms that developed in the South Pacific to the east of longitude 160°E during the 2024–25 season. It includes their intensity on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale, duration, name, landfalls, deaths, and damages. All data is taken from RSMC Nadi and/or TCWC Wellington, and all of the damage figures are in 2024 or 2025 USD.
| Name | Dates | Peak intensity | Peak intensity | Peak intensity | Areas affected | Damage (USD) | Deaths | Refs |
| Name | Dates | Category | Wind speed | Pressure | Areas affected | Damage (USD) | Deaths | Refs |
| 01F | December 28 – 30 | Tropical depression | Not specified | 1004 hPa (29.65 inHg) | Fiji | None | None | |
| 02F | December 31, 2024 – January 2, 2025 | Tropical disturbance | Not specified | 1006 hPa (29.71 inHg) | None | None | None | |
| 03F | January 5 – 8 | Tropical disturbance | Not specified | 997 hPa (29.44 inHg) | Samoa, Niue | None | None | |
| Pita | January 9 – 12 | Category 1 tropical cyclone | 65 km/h (40 mph) | 995 hPa (29.38 inHg) | Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands | None | None | |
| 05F | January 31 – February 5 | Tropical depression | Not specified | 997 hPa (29.44 inHg) | Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu | None | None | |
| 06F | February 4 – 8 | Tropical disturbance | Not specified | 996 hPa (29.41 inHg) | New Caledonia | None | None | |
| 07F | February 11 – 13 | Tropical depression | Not specified | 998 hPa (29.47 inHg) | New Caledonia | None | None | |
| 08F | February 19 – 22 | Tropical depression | Not specified | 998 hPa (29.47 inHg) | Niue | None | None | |
| Rae | February 22 – 26 | Category 2 tropical cyclone | 110 km/h (70 mph) | 975 hPa (28.79 inHg) | Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, Tonga | Unknown | None | |
| Seru | February 24 – 27 | Category 2 tropical cyclone | 110 km/h (70 mph) | 980 hPa (28.94 inHg) | Fiji, Vanuatu | None | None | |
| Season aggregates |||||||||
| 10 systems | December 28, 2024 – Season Ongoing | | 110 km/h (70 mph) | 975 hPa (28.79 inHg) | | Unknown | None | |