November 24, 2019: The South Pacific cyclone season's first storm named Rita has formed between Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
According to the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department, at 5pm local time, the low pressure near Solomon Islands was named Tropical Cyclone Rita as it developed into a category one system.
Cyclone Rita was located about 405 km NE of Torres and 400 km NNE of Sola, an island in the far north of Vanuatu, Radio New Zealand reported.
Rita is the first tropical cyclone of the Season 2019-2020. New Zealand is typically affected by one ex-tropical cyclone per year.