page_title: Cyclone Bebe
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Cyclone Bebe / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Cyclone Bebe of the 1972–73 South Pacific cyclone season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The color represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression
context_page_description: Severe Tropical Cyclone Bebe, also known as Hurricane Bebe, was a pre-season storm in the South Pacific Ocean that impacted Fiji, the Ellice Islands and the Gilbert Islands during October 1972.
context_section_description: The origins of Severe Tropical Cyclone Bebe can be traced back to a pair of tropical disturbances, that were first noted on either side of the Equator near the 175th meridian west during October 16. The first tropical disturbance developed in the Northern Hemisphere and eventually developed into Typhoon Olga during October 25, where it directly impacted the Marshall Islands. The second disturbance developed within the South Pacific Ocean and started to move westwards, before it started to show signs of developing into a tropical cyclone during October 19. Over the next couple of days, the system started to move south-westwards and was named Bebe by the New Zealand Meteorological Service, after it had become a category 1 tropical cyclone on the modern-day Australian scale. During October 21, the system passed near or over the Elice Island of Funafuti, where hurricane-force winds were recorded.
  During October 22, Bebe weakened slightly, as it passed about 120 km (75 mi) to the west of the Tuvaluan reef island Niulakita. By this time the systems circulation extended out about 965 km (600 mi) and had started to move south-eastwards. Bebe was subsequently located about 60 km (35 mi) to the northeast of Rotuma, by a Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft that was on a search-and-rescue mission to Tuvalu. The system subsequently passed near to or over Rotuma and peaked with 10-minute sustained winds estimated at 155 km/h (100 mph) and 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 205 km/h (125 mph) which made it equivalent to a category 3 tropical cyclone on both the Australian Scale and Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. After affecting Rotuma with hurricane-force winds during that day, the system moved southwards towards the main islands of Fiji, and appeared on the Cossor Radar screen at the Nadi Meteorological Office during October 23. The centre of the hurricane moved on to the north coast of Viti Levu.
  During October 25, Bebe transitioned into an extra-tropical cyclone, before its remnants were last noted on October 28.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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