&sq=&lang=&file=File:Lola_2023-10-24_0300Z.jpg) Lola at its peak intensity off Vanuatu on 24 October | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 19 October 2023 |
| Dissipated | 27 October 2023 |
| Category 5 severe tropical cyclone | |
| 10-minute sustained (FMS) | |
| Highest winds | 215 km/h (130 mph) |
| Highest gusts | 295 km/h (185 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 930 hPa (mbar); 27.46 inHg |
| Category 4-equivalent tropical cyclone | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 230 km/h (145 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 937 hPa (mbar); 27.67 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 4 |
| Injuries | 4 |
| Damage | $360 million (2023 USD) |
| Areas affected | Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand |
Part of the 2023–24 South Pacific cyclone season | |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Lola is the strongest off-season tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere, surpassing the previous record held by Cyclone Xavier in 2006. The first tropical cyclone and severe tropical cyclone of the 2023–24 South Pacific cyclone season, Lola was first noted as an area of low pressure to the northeast of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Over the next few days, the system gradually developed further, before it was classified as a tropical cyclone and named Lola by the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) on 22 October. Later that same day, Lola rapidly intensified into a Category 4 intensity was reached by 12:00 UTC that day, with Lola exhibiting maximum ten-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph). With convective rain bands wrapping into the circulation, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) assessed Lola as having one-minute sustained winds of 215 km/h (130 mph). At the same time, the FMS followed suit and upgraded the system to a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone. Over the next few days, the cyclone's weakening accelerated as it moved southwards before degenerated into a tropical depression on 26 October. Cyclone Lola was the third severe tropical cyclone to impact Vanuatu during 2023, after Cyclones Judy and Kevin had impacted the island nation earlier that year. The cyclone caused at four deaths and left at least four injured.