Summary
During the second half of November an active phase of the intraseasonal oscillation produced two cyclones in the southwest Pacific: Nute west of the date-line then Osea east of the date-line. Nute developed south of the Solomon Islands during November and traversed an island-free area of the western South Pacific for several days before decaying between New Caledonia and the Queensland coast without causing any damage.
A tropical depression within the South Pacific convergence zone was located about 100 km southwest of Santa Cruz Island in the Solomons on 18 November. The depression was steered to the southwest by the middle level ridge to the south of the system. Nute developed rapidly initially in an area of increasing upper divergence and favourable sea surface temperatures. Maximum winds reached 31 m/s on 19 November and intensity remained steady until 20 November when the system began to weaken rapidly. An approaching mid-latitude trough resulted in shearing of the cyclone, entrainment of dry air and a recurvature to the southeast. Nute dissipated on 21 November west of New Caledonia.
Track and intensity
