After being named, Zoe intensified very rapidly in very favorable conditions and became a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone by 12:00 UTC (23:00 SIT) on December 26. Zoe's eye subsequently became obvious on both visible and infrared satellite imagery, while the system continued to intensify and became a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone during December 27. During December 27, the JTWC reported that Zoe had become equivalent to a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale as it peaked with 1-minute windspeeds of 285 km/h (180 mph) and passed about to the southeast of the Solomon Island: Anuta. Zoe subsequently turned towards the southwest and passed in between the Solomon Islands of Anuta and Fataka, as the subtropical ridge weakened in response to an upper level trough of low pressure over the Tasman Sea. Early on December 28, the FMS estimated that the system had peaked as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone, with 10-minute sustained wind speeds of 240 km/h (150 mph) and a minimum pressure of . By this time the steering flow over the cyclone had become weak and variable, as the system passed within of the island of Tikopia. As a result, Zoe virtually stalled and performed a small clockwise cyclonic loop, within the vicinity of Tikopia, however, the eye of the system did not pass over the island.