El Nino raises cyclone risk in Polynesia, says meteorologist

The current El Niño weather pattern increases the change of cyclones hitting the islands of Samoa warns Raymond Tanabe, meteorologist at the national weather service office in Honolulu.

“One of the key things with El Nino here in Samoa is that it increases the chance for tropical cyclones. In places like Majuro, which is north of the equator but closer to the dateline, we tend to see hurricanes form closer to the dateline during El Nino years and that increases the threat of the Samoa region getting hit by a hurricane.”