Fiji Pounded by its First Category 5 Storm on Record: Tropical Cyclone Winston
24 FEBRUARY 2016
Mighty Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston, upgraded to 165 mph winds at 1 pm EDT Friday by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), is now the strongest tropical cyclone and first Category 5 storm on record to hit the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. The eye of Winston passed over the small Fiji island of Vanua Balavu near 1 pm EST Friday, when the storm was at Category 5 strength. At that time, the island's airport was in the western eyewall of Winston, and measured 10-minute average winds of 106 mph (perhaps roughly equivalent to 120 mph winds using the U.S. 1-minute averaging time.)
