38 W e a t h e r and Climate (1987)7: 38-54. THE 1986/87 HURRICANE SEASON IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

There were twelve tropical cyclones in the South Pacific region during the 1986/87 season compared with an eighteen-year average o f about ten. H a l f of them reached hurricane intensity. They were distributed in a pattern typical o f an E l Nub event (negative phase o f the Southern Oscillation). Descriptive accounts are given of individual cyclones emphasising how their behaviour is influenced by the large scale environment