High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Severe Tropical Cyclone Wilma (RSMC Nadi designation 06F, JTWC designation 08P) was the first tropical cyclone on record to hit New Zealand while still tropical. Forming out of a trough of low pressure on January 19 to the northwest of Fiji, Cyclone Wilma initially tracked eastward towards the Samoan Islands. On January 22, the system took a sharp southward turn, bringing its centre directly over American Samoa the following day. After turning towards the southwest and accelerating, Wilma steadily intensified into a severe tropical cyclone before striking Tonga. The storm reached its peak intensity on January 26 as a Category 4 cyclone with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) and a barometric pressure of 930 mbar (hPa; 27.46 inHg). Gradually re-curving towards the southeast, Wilma weakened quickly as it moved over cooler sea surface temperatures; by January 28, it was downgraded to a tropical cyclone. Later that day, the storm brushed the North Island of New Zealand before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone.