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From Town Tools. For the current version, visit https://www.towntools.org/neiafu-vava-u-to/tonga-weather-warnings
Neiafu lives on the water, so the line to read here is often the coastal-waters one rather than the land one. Tonga Met calls 22 to 33 knots a strong wind and 34 to 47 a gale, and the yachts on moorings, the fishing skiffs and the inter-island ferries at Halaevalu Wharf feel the first of those long before anything on shore does.
The Tonga Meteorological Service has 2 warnings in force for all of Tonga
As of Thu, 22 October at 9:58 pm.
Orange
A STRONG WIND WARNING REMAINS IN FORCE FOR ALL OF TONGA LAND AREAS.
FORECAST TO MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR TONGA
Moderate to fresh southeasterly winds, strong at times.
Mainly fine apart from cloudy periods with possible isolated showers.
A high-pressure remain situated to the southwest of the group, directing moderate to strong southeasterly winds across Tonga.
Area
ALL OF TONGA LAND AREAS
Last updated
Thu, 22 October at 7:00 pm
Orange
A STRONG WIND WARNING, HIGH SURF WARNING AND SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAIN IN FORCE FOR ALL OF TONGA COASTAL WATERS.
FORECAST TO MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR TONGA COASTAL WATERS
Southeasterly winds 15-20 knots, rising up to 25-30 knots at times.
Moderate to rough seas (up to 2.5-3.5 metres). A moderate southerly swell (up to 2.5 metres).
Area
ALL OF TONGA COASTAL WATERS
Last updated
Thu, 22 October at 7:00 pm
Tonga Met issues these warnings for the country as a whole — the area named on each one is the area it covers, and that is normally the whole of Tonga rather than one island group. The temperature, tide, sunrise and pressure figures in the same bulletin are measured at Nuku‘alofa on Tongatapu, not here, so this page leaves them out. The bulletin is published twice a day.
The wind at the Port of Refuge
A fresh breeze (about 30 km/h, gusts to 43), out of the east-southeast.
Strongest gusts forecast over the next 24 hours: about 50 km/h. Wind words follow the Beaufort scale. This is a weather model’s forecast for the hour, not a measurement — exposed ground above town will see more.
Where the warnings come from, and who to ring
The Tonga Meteorological Service at Matatoa is the only body that issues weather warnings for Tonga, and it publishes the same bulletin in English and in Tongan. Its forecasters answer a 24-hour toll-free number, 0800 638, from a Digicel or Ucall phone; the recorded forecast is 35 009 and the forecasting office is 740 0062. Cyclone tracks and special weather bulletins reach Tonga Met’s Facebook page before they reach anywhere else. This page is not an alert service: a line down is Tonga Power’s business, and the sirens belong to the National Emergency Management Office.
Where to check, before and during
Tonga Met weather bulletin (English)The bulletin this page reads, straight from the service, with the national forecast and the next day’s outlook in full.
Official warnings, forwarded the moment the national service issues one for the area — headline and all, in its own words. Nothing in between. No account, one-click unsubscribe.
Worth knowing
What a cyclone has done here
Cyclone season runs from November to April and most often lands in January or February. Vavaʻu took a direct hit from Cyclone Waka at the end of December 2001, a Category 4 that severely damaged or destroyed more than 200 houses in Neiafu alone, and Cyclone Tino did further damage in January 2020. A cyclone in 1961 destroyed the church later rebuilt as the Free Wesleyan church in town.
This season, under El Niño
Tonga Met declared El Niño in June 2026 and warned of below-average rain, marine heatwaves and heightened tropical cyclone activity — typically two to four cyclones in an El Niño year, with at least two possibly reaching Category 3 to 5. Drought was declared in parts of Tonga on 12 October 2026 and Vavaʻu is on drought alert; villages outside the piped Neiafu supply are on rain tanks.
Calling in, and calling for help, on the water
Boats hail and call for help on VHF channel 16, which is the channel to be on when the weather turns. Channel 26 was Vavaʻu's working channel for years and the position is now unclear: the Port Officer guide's channel list (October 2026) records 26 as having died in 2026 with a new repeater on channel 60 still under test, while the same guide, Noonsite (June 2026) and the maritime rescue association's own listing all still treat 26 as monitored. The bay speed limit is 5 knots. Tonga Met takes ship trip reports on 7400093.