Question: Severe Tropical Cyclone Anne was one of the most intense tropical cyclones within the South Pacific basin during the 1980s, it was first noted on which date as a weak tropical depression?
Context: A South Pacific tropical cyclone is a non frontal, low pressure system that has developed, within an environment of warm sea surface temperatures and little vertical wind shear aloft in the South Pacific Ocean.  Within the Southern Hemisphere there are officially three areas where tropical cyclones develop on a regular basis, these areas are the South-West Indian Ocean between Africa and 90°E, the Australian region between 90°E and 160°E and the South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W.  The South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W is officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service and New Zealand's MetService, while others like the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also monitor the basin.  Each tropical cyclone year within this basin starts on July 1 and runs throughout the year, encompassing the tropical cyclone season which runs from November 1 and lasts until April 30 each season.  Within the basin, most tropical cyclones have their origins within the South Pacific Convergence Zone or within the Northern Australian monsoon trough, both of which form an extensive area of cloudiness and are dominant features of the season.  Within this region a tropical disturbance is classified as a tropical cyclone, when it has 10-minute sustained wind speeds of more than 65 km/h (35 mph), that wrap halfway around the low level circulation centre, while a severe tropical cyclone is classified when the maximum 10-minute sustained wind speeds are greater than 120 km/h (75 mph). Severe Tropical Cyclone Anne was one of the most intense tropical cyclones within the South Pacific basin during the 1980s.  The cyclone was first noted on January 5, 1988 as a weak tropical depression to the northeast of Tuvalu, in conjunction with the future Typhoon Roy in the North-Western Pacific basin.  Over the next few days, the system gradually developed while moving southwestward.  Once it became a tropical cyclone, it was named Anne on January 8.  The next day, Anne rapidly intensified, becoming the fourth major tropical cyclone to affect Vanuatu within four years.  On January 11, Anne peaked in intensity while it was equivalent to a Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, and a Category 4 on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale.  After turning southward on January 12, Anne struck New Caledonia, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to affect the French Overseas Territory.  The system subsequently weakened as it started to interact with Tropical Cyclone Agi.  Anne weakened into a depression and was last noted on January 14 to the south-east of New Caledonia. Severe Tropical Cyclone Ron was one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record in the South Pacific.  The system was first noted as a tropical depression, to the northeast of Samoa on January 1, 1998.  Over the next day the system gradually developed further and was named Ron as it developed into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale during the next day.  The system subsequently continued to move south-westwards and became a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone, as it passed near Swains Island during January 3. The 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active South Pacific tropical cyclone season's on record, with only four tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific basin to the east of 160°E.  The season officially ran from November 1, 2007 until April 30, 2008, although the first cyclone, Tropical Depression 01F, developed on October 17.  The most intense tropical cyclone of the season was Severe Tropical Cyclone Daman, which reached a minimum pressure of 925 hPa (27.32 inHg) as it affected Fiji.  After the season had ended, the names Daman, Funa, and Gene were retired from the tropical cyclone naming lists. Severe Tropical Cyclone Susan was one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record within the South Pacific basin, which was first noted on December 20, 1997, as a weak tropical disturbance located to the north of American Samoa.  Over the next 12 days, the disturbance remained weak while it gradually moved towards the southwest before it started to rapidly develop on January 2, 1998 while it was located near the Fijian dependency of Rotuma.  The disturbance was declared a tropical cyclone later that day, but was not named Susan until the next day, after it had intensified into a category 2 tropical cyclone on the Australian Scale.  Over the next few days, Susan moved towards the southwest and continued to intensify before it reached its peak intensity as a category five tropical cyclone during January 5 while it was located about 400 km to the northwest of Vanuatu's capital city Port Vila. The 2010–11 South Pacific cyclone season was a slightly below average tropical cyclone season, with seven tropical cyclones and five severe tropical cyclones developing during the season.  The season ran from November 1, 2010 until April 30, 2011, though if any tropical cyclones had developed between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011, the official "tropical cyclone year", they would have been counted towards the season's total.  Within the South Pacific basin tropical cyclones were officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service's Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in Nadi, Fiji, north of 25°S, and to the south the Meteorological Service of New Zealand's Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Wellington, New Zealand.  Any disturbances forming in the region were designated with a sequential number suffixed by the letter F.  In addition, the United States Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center unofficially monitored parts of the basin during the season, where any systems judged to have achieved tropical storm strength or greater received a number suffixed with the letter P. RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measure wind speeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC measures sustained winds over a period of one minute which can be applied to the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.  Seven named storms formed or moved into the South Pacific basin during the 2010–11 season, the strongest of which was Severe Tropical Cyclone Wilma in late January. The 2011–12 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the least active South Pacific tropical cyclone seasons on record, with only three tropical cyclones occurring during the season.  The season ran from November 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012, however, any tropical cyclones that form before June 30, 2012 would have fallen within the 2011–12 tropical cyclone year and would have counted towards the season total.  The strongest and only severe tropical cyclone that occurred during the season was Severe Tropical Cyclone Jasmine, which tracked in from out of the South Pacific basin.  Within the basin, tropical cyclones are monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in Nadi, Fiji, and the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) in Wellington, New Zealand.  RSMC Nadi attaches an F designation to tropical disturbances that form in or move into the South Pacific.  The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issues unofficial warnings within the South Pacific, designating tropical storm-equivalent or greater tropical cyclones with a number and a P suffix.  RSMC Nadi and TCWC Wellington both use the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and measure windspeeds over a period of ten minutes, while the JTWC measures sustained winds over a period of one minute and uses the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. Severe Tropical Cyclone Zoe was estimated to be one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record within the Southern Hemisphere.  The system was first noted on December 23, 2002 as a tropical depression that had developed, within the South Pacific Convergence Zone to the east of Tuvalu.  Over the next couple of days the system moved south-westwards and crossed the International Dateline early on December 25.  After this the system became better organized and was declared to be a tropical cyclone and named Zoe later that day.  Zoe subsequently rapidly intensified in very favourable conditions as it continued to move west-southwest towards the Solomon Islands.  The system subsequently became a Category 5 tropical cyclone on both the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale and the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale during December 27.  The system subsequently affected the Solomon Islands Temotu Province during that day, before it peaked with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 240 km/h .  As the system peaked it performed a small clockwise cyclonic loop within the vicinity of Tikopia island, as a result of the steering flow over the cyclone becoming weak and variable.  The system subsequently started to move towards the southeast during December 29, in response to a strengthening steering flow, provided by an upper level trough of low pressure and a baroclinic system near New Caledonia.  Over the next few days the system weakened and degenerated into a tropical depression during January 1, 2003.  The system was subsequently last noted during January 4, while it was located to the southeast of New Caledonia. An Australian tropical cyclone is a non frontal, low pressure system that has developed, within an environment of warm sea surface temperatures and little vertical wind shear aloft in either the Southern Indian Ocean or the South Pacific Ocean.  Within the Southern Hemisphere there are officially three areas where tropical cyclones develop on a regular basis, these areas are the South-West Indian Ocean between Africa and 90°E, the Australian region between 90°E and 160°E and the South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W.  The Australian region between 90°E and 160°E is officially monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the Papua New Guinea National Weather Service and the Badan Meteorologi Klimatologi dan Geofisika, while others like the Fiji Meteorological Service and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also monitor the basin.  Each tropical cyclone year within this basin starts on July 1 and runs throughout the year, encompassing the tropical cyclone season which runs from November 1 and lasts until April 30 each season.  Within the basin, most tropical cyclones have their origins within the South Pacific Convergence Zone or within the Northern Australian monsoon trough, both of which form an extensive area of cloudiness and are dominant features of the season.  Within this region a tropical disturbance is classified as a tropical cyclone, when it has 10-minute sustained wind speeds of more than 65 km/h (35 mph), that wrap halfway around the low level circulation centre, while a severe tropical cyclone is classified when the maximum 10-minute sustained wind speeds are greater than 120 km/h (75 mph). A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean between 180° and 100°E.  This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for almost one-third of the world's annual tropical cyclones.  For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions: the eastern (North America to 140°W), central (140° to 180°W), and western (180° to 100°E).  The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for tropical cyclone forecasts is in Japan, with other tropical cyclone warning centers for the northwest Pacific in Hawaii (the Joint Typhoon Warning Center), the Philippines and Hong Kong.  While the RSMC names each system, the main name list itself is coordinated among 18 countries that have territories threatened by typhoons each year.  Only the Philippines use their own naming list for systems approaching the country.
Answer: January 5, 1988