Track and threat map for Cyclone Cook as it slowly leaves Vanuatu and deepens as it heads towards New Caledonia / Fiji Met Hot on the heels of ex-cyclone Debbie is the newly formed Cyclone Cook, and it could bring more flooding to New Zealand. Cyclone Cook is today tracking from southern parts of Vanuatu and towards New Caledonia, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The New Zealand Herald.</s>NIWA meteorologist Seth Carrier outlines the likely path of Cyclone Cook, which is gaining strength in the Pacific.

Cyclone Cook formed early Sunday morning near Vanuatu and has since rapidly intensified into a powerful category 3 storm as it nears central New Caledonia.

The storm, with sustained winds up to 157 km/h, will likely make landfall in central or southern New Caledonia tonight, leading to possible destruction of buildings, flooding due to very heavy rainfall and storm surge, and the possibility of landslides.

Weather conditions are expected to improve across New Caledonia tomorrow as the storm moves southeast.

Tuesday into Wednesday: Tropical Cyclone Cook is expected to push southeast through the open waters of the Southwest Pacific while weakening slightly.

This weakening will be caused by the storm entering an area of the southwest Pacific with cooler water temperatures, which deprives it of the “fuel” it needs to sustain itself. In addition, winds high in the atmosphere will begin to increase, otherwise known as shear, and these upper-level winds help to tear apart tropical cyclones.

Wednesday into Thursday: Still on a southeast trajectory, Tropical Cyclone Cook is expected to move in the direction of New Zealand. While the centre of the storm is still likely to be several hundred kilometres north of the country, a plume of deep, tropical moisture is forecast to extend southward and result in locally heavy rainfall across the North Island.

Around this time, Tropical Cyclone Cook is expected to transition to an ex-tropical cyclone, meaning that it will enter a phase where it transforms from a tropical low pressure to a non-tropical low pressure.

Meanwhile, a separate area of low pressure is forecast move east across the Tasman Sea. On Wednesday, this storm will act to siphon Cook’s moisture southward toward the North Island.

Model guidance monitored by NIWA, suggests that the upper and eastern North Island are most likely to experience an impactful weather event from Wednesday through to Friday morning.

More very heavy rain is likely to fall in similar areas that were heavily affected by last week’s storm. Unfortunately, with soils across much of the North Island already saturated, the risk for flooding this week will be higher as the ground will be unable to absorb additional rainfall.

At this time, storm total rainfall amounts (Wednesday-Friday) may range from 100 to 250 mm with locally higher amounts possible in the hardest hit areas, although significant variation is likely across the North Island.

Another potential impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Cook is the threat for high swell as it approaches the North Island. Tropical cyclones create a phenomenon known as storm surge, where a combination of winds and low pressure cause sea levels to rise ahead of the storm. This will increase the risk for dangerously high waves along the northeastern and eastern coasts of the North Island, which may result in coastal inundation and erosion.

While confidence is increasing that heavy rain will impact the North Island from Wednesday into Friday, the precise areas that will see the heaviest falls remain difficult to pinpoint.

In addition, it remains unclear whether the centre of then ex-Tropical Cyclone Cook will make a direct landfall on New Zealand, but if it were to occur, the most likely time frame would be late Thursday into Friday, somewhere upon the upper or eastern North Island. If a direct landfall were to occur, it would result in a peak of rainfall intensity and a potential for damaging wind gusts.

For official guidance on the track of Tropical Cyclone Cook, refer to the Fiji Meteorological Service (http://www.met.gov.fj/index.php) and MetService (http://www.metservice.com/national/home).

Improving weather conditions are possible across the North Island on Friday.

Through the long weekend, showers are expected to occur as low pressure over the Tasman Sea slowly weakens and swirls over top of the country. There will be some sunshine, especially across the North Island, although an umbrella should be kept handy. Temperatures will be seasonably cool with decreasing humidity following a mid and late week peak.</s>Cyclone Cook formed early Sunday morning near Vanuatu and has since rapidly intensified into a powerful category 3 storm as it nears central New Caledonia. The storm, with sustained winds up to 157 km/h, will likely make landfall in central or southern New Caledonia tonight, leading to possible destruction of buildings, flooding due to very heavy rainfall and storm surge, and the possibility of landslides.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Scoop.</s>Track and threat map for Cyclone Cook as it slowly leaves Vanuatu and deepens as it heads towards New Caledonia / Fiji Met Hot on the heels of ex-cyclone Debbie is the newly formed Cyclone Cook, and it could bring more flooding to New Zealand. Cyclone Cook is today tracking from southern parts of Vanuatu and towards New Caledonia, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The New Zealand Herald.</s>SYDNEY (Reuters) - New Caledonia was bracing for high winds, massive waves, and heavy rain as a powerful cyclone bore down on the French South Pacific territory on Monday.

Cyclone Cook had already swept through Vanuatu as a Category one storm over the weekend, causing flooding.

The storm was forecast to strengthen to a destructive Category four, one rung below the most dangerous wind speed level, before it makes landfall in New Caledonia on Monday afternoon local time, Fiji's Meteorological Service predicted.

The storm was expected to hit the main island's north almost at the same time as high tide, with winds of up to 200 km per hour (124 miles per hour). Flooding rain and waves as tall as 10 meters (33 feet) have been forecast by New Caledonian authorities.

"The threat to New Caledonia is very serious," the territory's meteorological service said in a cyclone alert bulletin on Monday.

Flights from the main airport at Noumea will be canceled on Monday evening, a spokeswoman said in a telephone interview.

In Vanuatu, where Cyclone Cook had already passed through, no injuries were reported and the storm did little damage to property, but low-lying areas were evacuated as floodwaters rose, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported.

Cyclone Cook was intensifying as the threat from Cyclone Debbie, which struck Australia and New Zealand, dissipated.[nL3N1HE5EP]</s>Photo: RNZ / Shaun O'Callaghan

Nearly 200 people around Efate, the main island in Vanuatu, have been moved to evacuation centres because of flooding caused by Cyclone Cook.

The category two cyclone has brought widespread and strong winds to Vanuatu over the past 24 hours.

Peter Korisa at the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office in Port Vila says they have not been able to restore communications with the outer islands but he says there is extensive flooding on Efate.

He says they have moved close to 200 people into evacuation shelters because their houses were in flood prone areas.

Mr Korisa says these numbers will rise if the rain continues.

Cyclone Cook, which is expected to intensify, is now moving towards New Caledonia.

Current projections have it hitting New Caledonia directly on Monday afternoon.</s>Hot on the heels of ex-cyclone Debbie is the newly formed Cyclone Cook, and it could bring more flooding to New Zealand. Cyclone Cook is today tracking from southern parts of Vanuatu and towards New Caledonia, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Otago Daily Times.</s>SYDNEY, April 10 (Reuters) - New Caledonia was bracing for high winds, massive waves, and heavy rain as a powerful cyclone bore down on the French South Pacific territory on Monday.

Cyclone Cook had already swept through Vanuatu as a Category one storm over the weekend, causing flooding.

The storm was forecast to strengthen to a destructive Category four, one rung below the most dangerous wind speed level, before it makes landfall in New Caledonia on Monday afternoon local time, Fiji's Meteorological Service predicted.

The storm was expected to hit the main island's north almost at the same time as high tide, with winds of up to 200 km per hour (124 miles per hour). Flooding rain and waves as tall as 10 metres (33 feet) have been forecast by New Caledonian authorities.

"The threat to New Caledonia is very serious," the territory's meteorological service said in a cyclone alert bulletin on Monday.

Flights from the main airport at Noumea will be cancelled on Monday evening, a spokeswoman said in a telephone interview.

In Vanuatu, where Cyclone Cook had already passed through, no injuries were reported and the storm did little damage to property, but low-lying areas were evacuated as floodwaters rose, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported.

Cyclone Cook was intensifying as the threat from Cyclone Debbie, which struck Australia and New Zealand, dissipated. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)</s>Cyclone Cook is expected to make landfall in New Caledonia on Monday night as a Category 3 cyclone.

The Sécurité Civile is issuing advice on local media. The whole of New Caledonia is on “pre-alert”, as at 11pm 8 April 2017 local time.

We advise New Zealanders in New Caledonia to follow the advice of the local authorities at all times (including any evacuation orders) and seek suitable shelter. Visitors and tourists staying in travel accommodation should follow the guidance of hotel/resort management. It is generally considered sensible practice not to venture outdoors during a cyclone and remain well away from the sea and rivers. We recommend you stay informed of developments by monitoring local news and weather reports.

Please also ensure you keep your family and friends in New Zealand informed of your safety and well-being, including after the cyclone has passed.

New Zealanders in New Caledonia requiring emergency assistance should contact the local emergency services on the following numbers:

If you require consular assistance, please contact the New Zealand Consulate General on: +687 27 25 43 (office hours) or +687 79 19 22 (after hours).</s>Residents of Vanuatu are taking shelter as a category four cyclone brings heavy rain and strong winds to the same area devastated by the largest cyclone in the South Pacific island nation’s history last year, aid workers said on Sunday. Disaster management authorities have issued a red alert for islands in Tafea, the southernmost of Vanuatu's six provinces, a spokesman of CARE Australia told Reuters.

"Most people are sheltering in schools and churches, the only permanent buildings on these islands," Sam Bolitho said. "Some people are also sheltering in caves."

The eye of the storm, Ula, is not expected to pass over any islands but the ring of the cyclone was causing damage, Bolitho said in an email.

Islanders are bracing for winds expected to reach up to 165 kmph (100 mph), besides flash flooding, landslides and storm surges. Last March, tropical cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, the highest classification, wiped out more than 90 percent of Vanuatu's crops, tore up homes and power networks, killed 11 and disrupted the lives of most of its 252,800 people.

"This time, people are taking every possible precaution," said Inga Mepham, CARE's Vanuatu program director, adding that the aid agency was working with disaster authorities to spread the latest weather information and take precautionary measures.
Dozens of people in Vanuatu are in shelters as Cyclone Cook hits the island. It is due to pass through New Caledonia tomorrow.