Summary
Tropical Cyclone Fina was downgraded upon reanalysis to be a tropical low that failed to reach actual tropical cyclone intensity in the Coral Sea.
A broad area of low pressure developed on the South Pacific Convergence Zone to the southeast of Papua New Guinea on 19 December. This low pressure area was near stationary and a number of circulation centres were tracked over 19-20 December.
Early on 21 December the low began to become more focussed on one centre. An approaching upper trough to the west started to influence the low, steering the circulation on a more southeasterly track. Late on 21 December, the low developed further and was tracking southerly at about 15 km/h.
The peak in intensity occurred overnight 21-22 December with a significant increase in deep convection near the centre. Gales were possible for a brief period but only to the east of the centre. In real-time it was declared Tropical Cyclone Fina, but upon reanalysis it is unlikely that gales extended more than halfway around the centre. The low at this stage was also beginning to show the effects of wind shear associated with an upper trough to the west, and weakening commenced.
The lower level easterly winds steered the low in a southwesterly direction. Despite a temporary increase in deep convection late on 22 December, the system then lost its tropical cloud characteristics.
An upper trough then influenced the transition of the low to become a sub-tropical system. The circulation managed to develop gales in the following days before moving east of the Australian region at 160°E overnight from 25-26 December.
The east southeasterly gales delivered dangerous surf conditions to southeast Queensland during Christmas. Otherwise, there were no direct impacts from this event.
Track and Intensity(Time in AEST (UTC+10h))
