Cyclone Paula developed from an area of disturbed weather embedded within a monsoon trough on February 25, 2001, near Vanuatu.

The low pressure area that would eventually develop into Cyclone Paula was first identified at 1800 UTC on February 25, embedded within a monsoon trough 340 km (210 mi) south of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

[1] At the time, the system was positioned under an upper-level outflow center and located in an area of warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of about 30 °C (86 °F).

[2][3] Early the next day, a sharp increase in oceanic heat content triggered a rapid burst of convection in the northern and eastern quadrants of the system.

An expanding circulation center and persistently deep convection allowed barometric pressures within the system to steadily fall.

[1] The cyclone made its closest pass to Fiji at 1800 UTC on March 1, 145 km (90 mi) south-southwest of Kadavu Island.

As a result, the cyclone promptly began to quickly weaken, with maximum ten-minute sustained winds dropping by 55 km/h (34 mph) in 30 hours.

Still weakening, Paula transitioned into an extratropical cyclone at 0600 UTC on March 4,[3] 1,700 km (1,100 mi) east-northeast of the northern tip of New Zealand.