American Samoa Spared Direct Hit
Tropical Cyclone Rene is seen moving west away from American Samoa (Image Courtesy National Environmental Scientific , Data and Information Service, NOAA).
While much of the United States is trudging through a long and snowy winter, residents of the Territory of American Samoa in the Southern Hemisphere were reminded over the weekend that they are in the middle of their tropical cyclone season. Following close on the heels of Cyclones Oli and Pat, which caused damage to French Polynesia and the Cook Islands, Tropical Cyclone Rene mostly spared the islands of American Samoa before hitting Tonga further to the west. American Samoa, including the National Park of American Samoa, is still recovering from the devastating tsunami that struck the islands in September.
Tropical Cyclone Rene churning through the South Pacific (Image Courtesy U.S. Navy).
Sea Surface Temperatures Feb. 13-16 (Image Courtesy NOAA).
