Weather

Natural disasters include cyclones, flash floods, strong winds and El Nino.

Finland Pacific (FINPAC) project manager Christina Leala Gale said weather services need to improve on dealing with the media in order to effectively get their weather forecasts out to the communities. 

The FINPAC project is coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) on behalf of Pacific Island countries.

A renewal strong wind warning has been issued by the PNG National Weather Service this morning.

The strong wind warning is ongoing for over a month now as the southeast trade winds prevail over forecast waters.

Strong winds will affect all coastal waters of Southern PNG through Torres Strait and Daru to Kiwai Island to Kerema to Yule Island and Hood Point.

Strong southeast winds of 25/34 knots are expected to continue for the next 24 hours causing rough seas.

A renewal strong wind warning for coastal areas has been issued by the PNG National Weather Service this morning.

The strong wind warning is ongoing for a month now as the southeast trade winds prevail over the country.

Strong winds will also continue to affect all coastal waters of Southern PNG through Torres Strait and Daru to Kiwai Island to Kerema to Yule Island and Hood Point.

People along the coast of Western waters of West New Britain including Finschaffen and Siassi Island in Morobe Province, Karkar Island, Bogia and Manus are urged to also take precaution.

Fiji Times Online reports the inclement weather, which has brought heavy rainfall and strong winds in some parts of the country, is being caused by Tropical Depression TD17F, which was located about 310 kilometres north-north-west of Nadi at midday yesterday.

It is moving towards the country at 15km per hour.

Fiji Meteorological Service director Ravind Kumar said the concern for Fiji was the associated strong winds, rain and the likelihood of flooding of low-lying areas.

A senior officer with the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority Gabriel Luluaki pointed during a field visit to the hinterlands of Madang last weekend.

He said rural folks must be extra careful walking along pathways closer to river banks flooded creeks or at the side of steep hills and mountains。 This is to avoid being swept away by flood or by landslips.

“With the continuous rains， the soil maybe be soaky and can sink or fall and hurt or kill people.

“Flooded rivers and creeks are also dangerous so don’t go  near to the banks” Luluaki said.

The weather office has reported that today will be cloudy at times following morning showers with light to moderate northwest winds, 10-15 knots.

This follows heavy rain early in the morning and light showers later.

The weather is humid and hot at times during the day with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 32 degrees Celsius predicted.

With El Nino in progress, the weather conditions are likely to be drier throughout the forecast period.

Weather man Jimmy Gomoga confirmed earlier that the weather during the early days of the New Year would mostly be fine.

Director of the National Weather Service Samuel Maiha says the La Nina season is predicted to be more severe than before.

“There are very strong predictions and the La Nina usually starts after the El Nino,” he says.

La Niña events are usually wetter. La Niña-associated prolonged rainfall has led to flooding and landslides, tropical cyclones, destruction roads, infrastructure, agriculture crops and others.

Maiha says the prediction is an early warning for appropriate government agencies to plan ahead of the expected season.

PNG Loop was informed the light rains bring experienced is due to the low pressure or trough in the lower Papua region.

This trough is moving to the east and Port Moresby should expect good weather come Monday.

The light rain is expected to move down to Abau and Milne Bay before it clears out.

Meanwhile weather prediction for week two of the games should be fine says the National Weather office.