List of Category 3 South Pacific severe tropical cyclones
Category 3 the third-highest classification on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale is used to classify tropical cyclones, that have 10-minute sustained winds of . 79 tropical cyclones have peaked as Category 3 severe tropical cyclones in the South Pacific tropical cyclone basin, which is denoted as the part of the Pacific Ocean to the south of the equator and to the east of 160°E. The earliest tropical cyclone to be classified as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone was Dolly which was classified as a Category 3  severe tropical cyclone . The latest was Ana as it moved south-eastwards away from the Fijian Islands. This list does include any tropical cyclones that went on to peak as a Category 4 or 5 severe tropical cyclone, while in the Southern Pacific tropical cyclone basin. Background. The South Pacific tropical cyclone basin is located to the south of the Equator between 160°E and 120°W. The basin is officially monitored by the Fiji Meteorological Service and the New Zealand MetService, while other meteorological services such as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Météo-France as well as  the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center also monitor the basin. Within the basin a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone is a tropical cyclone that has 10-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds of on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale. A named storm could also be classified as a Category 3 tropical cyclone if it is estimated, to have 1-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds of between on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. This scale is only officially used in American Samoa, however, various agencies including NASA also use it to compare tropical cyclones. A Category 3  tropical cyclone is expected to cause catastrophic devastation, if it significantly impacts land at or near its peak intensity. Other systems. In addition to the systems listed above, Severe Tropical Cyclone's Bebe, Gyan, Abigail, Nisha-Orama, Oscar, Tomasi, Veena, Uma, Bola, Wasa-Arthur, Joni, Sarah, Beti, Kim, Paula, Waka, Eseta, Ivy, Daman, Funa, Freda and Hola were all considered to have 1-minute sustained wind speeds equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane on the SSHWS by the JTWC. Operationally, the BoM considered Severe Tropical Cyclone Dovi to have peaked with 10-minute sustained wind-speeds of which made it  a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone. However, New Zealand's MetService estimated that Dovi had peaked with 10-minute sustained windspeeds of which made it a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone.