Saturday 13 March

A bright and fairly sunny day, with the odd light shower. Rugby is once more dominating our television screens, although I have more than enough on my hands with two tropical cyclones in the Pacific.

Tomas is now bearing down on Fiji, which can anticipate a direct hit from this storm. Winds near the centre will be at 95 knots (110 mph), slightly less than previously forecast, when the system traverses the two main islands in 24 hours' time.

Ului is located between Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands and has exploded from a 65 knots category I hurricane to a 105 knots category III hurricane in 12 hours. This system will strengthen very rapidly, until it hits the ceiling at 150 knots in the course of tomorrow. The Solomon Islands will catch a whiff of this storm with galeforce winds. I am also keeping an eye on the Louisiade Islands, which string out to the southeast of Papua New Guinea, as they are within 250 miles of the forecast track of Ului. Yep, I too had to consult a map.