The storm earlier had caused $138 million in damage to the banana crop in Queensland, Australia. Himawari-8 image of Tropical Cyclone Niran in the South Pacific Ocean at 8 am EST Friday, March 5, 2021, when Niran was a category 5 storm with 160 mph winds. (Image credit: NOAA/CIRA/RAMMB/Colorado State University) Earth’s second category 5 tropical storm of 2021 is Tropical Cyclone Niran in the South Pacific Ocean. Niran is expected to affect New Caledonia as a destructive category 4 storm on Saturday. Niran took advantage of low wind shear of 5-10 knots and warm ocean temperatures of 29 degrees Celsius (84°F) to rapidly intensity by 35 mph in just six hours on Friday, peaking as a category 5 storm with 160 mph winds and a central pressure of 917 mb at 8 am EST March 5, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Niran’s intensity was estimated via the standard Dvorak technique, which uses infrared satellite imagery.