Australian region tropical cyclone

An Australian region tropical cyclone is a non-frontal, low pressure system that has developed, within an environment of warm sea surface temperatures and little vertical wind shear aloft in either the Southern Indian Ocean or the South Pacific Ocean.[1] Within the Southern Hemisphere there are officially three areas where tropical cyclones develop on a regular basis, these areas are the South-West Indian Ocean between Africa and 90°E, the Australian region between 90°E and 160°E and the South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W. The Australian region between 90°E and 160°E is officially monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, and the Papua New Guinea National Weather Service and, while others like the Fiji Meteorological Service and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also monitor the basin. Each tropical cyclone year within this basin starts on 1 July and runs throughout the year, encompassing the tropical cyclone season which runs from 1 November and lasts until 30 April each season. Within the basin, most tropical cyclones have their origins within the South Pacific Convergence Zone or within the Northern Australian monsoon trough, both of which form an extensive area of cloudiness and are dominant features of the season. Within this region a tropical disturbance is classified as a tropical cyclone, when it has 10-minute sustained wind speeds of more than 65 km/h (35 mph), that wrap halfway around the low level circulation centre, while a severe tropical cyclone is classified when the maximum 10-minute sustained wind speeds are greater than 120 km/h (75 mph).

Basin history

There is a history of tropical cyclones affecting northeastern Australia for over 5000 years; however, Clement Lindley Wragge was the first person to monitor and name them.[2]

In the early history of tropical cyclones in the Australian region, the only evidence of a storm was based on ship reports and observations from land. Later, satellite imagery began in the basin in the 1959/60 season, although it was not continuous until 1970. In Western Australia in particular, the lack of population centers, shipping lanes, radars, and offshore stations meant that storms were tracked infrequently. After the onset of satellite imagery, the Dvorak technique was used to estimate storm's intensities and locations.[3]

Background

The Australian region is currently defined as being between 90°E and 160°E and is monitored by five different warning centres during the season that runs from 1 November to 30 April.

Seasons

Before 1900

Main article: List of Australian region cyclones before 1900

1967–1969

Season	Tropical Lows	Tropical Cyclones	Severe Tropical Cyclones	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damages	References
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70	14	14	1		14	?

1970s

Season	Tropical Lows	Tropical Cyclones	Severe Tropical Cyclones	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damages	References
1970–71	20	20	10	Sheila-Sophie	Unknown	?
1971–72	18	18	10	Emily	Unknown	?
1972–73	15	15	8	Flores	1,574>	?	[4]
1973–74	19	19	9	Jessie	Unknown	?
1974–75	16	16	7	Tracy	71>	?
1975–76	16	15	9	Watorea	Unknown	?
1976–77	13	13	6	Ted	Unknown	?
1977–78	9	5	2	Alby	Unknown	?
1978–79	13	12	5	Hazel	Unknown	?
1979–80	15	15	9	Amy	Unknown	?

1980s

Season	Tropical Lows	Tropical Cyclones	Severe Tropical Cyclones	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damages	References
1980–81	14	14	11	Mabel	Unknown	Unknown
1981–82	15	15	7	Chris-Damia	Unknown	Unknown
1982–83	7	7	5	Elinor	Unknown	Unknown
1983–84	22	21	11	Kathy	1	$19 Million
1984–85	20	18	11	Kristy	0	$3.5 Million
1985–86	17	16	8	Victor	153	$250 Million
1986–87	9	7	2	Elsie	0	None
1987–88	6	5	2	Gwenda-Ezenina	1	$17.9 Million
1988–89	14	13	6	Orson	6	$93.9 Million
1989–90	14	14	4	Alex	Unknown	Unknown

1990s

Season	Tropical Lows	Tropical Cyclones	Severe Tropical Cyclones	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damages	References
1990–91	12	10	7	Marian	27
1991–92	12	10	9	Harriet-Heather	5	$9.4 million
1992–93	8	8	4	Oliver	0	$950 million
1993–94	14	12	7	Theodore	22
1994–95	19	6	6	Chloe	1
1995–96	19	15	9	Olivia	1	$58.5 million
1996–97	17	15	5	Pancho	34	$190 million
1997–98	11	9	4	Tiffany			[5]
1998–99	21	14	9	Gwenda	8	$250 million	[5]
1999-00	14	12	5	John/Paul	0	$251 million	[5]
	147	111	65	Gwenda	98	≥$1.71 billion

2000s

Season	Tropical Lows	Tropical Cyclones	Severe Tropical Cyclones	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damages	References
2000–01	9	8	3	Sam	2	$12.8 million	[5]
2001–02	14	10	4	Chris	19	$929 thousand	[5]
2002–03	11	8	3	Inigo	62	$28 million	[5]
2003–04	13	10	5	Fay	0	$20 million	[5]
2004–05	13	10	4	Ingrid	5	$14.4 million	[5]
2005–06	18	14	9	Monica	0	$5.1 million	[5]
2006–07	8	5	3	George	3		[5]
2007–08	14	9	3	Pancho	149	$86 million	[5]
2008–09	24	11	3	Hamish	5	$103 million	[5]
2009–10	13	8	4	Laurence	3	$681 million	[5]
	137	93	41	Inigo	249	≥$1.75 billion

2010s

Season	Tropical Lows	Tropical Cyclones	Severe Tropical Cyclones	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damages	References
2010–11	28	11	5	Yasi	3	$3.56 billion	[5][6]
2011–12	21	7	2	Lua	16	> $230 million	[6]
2012–13	16	10	4	Narelle	20	$2.5 billion	[7]
2013–14	17	10	5	Ita	22	$958 million
2014–15	18	9	7	Marcia	1	> $732 million
2015–16	11	3	0	Stan	0	None	[A 1]
2016–17	30	9	3	Ernie	16	$1.8 billion
2017–18	23	11	3	Marcus	41	$165 million
2018-19	25	11	6	Veronica	14	$1.63 billion
2019-20	18	8	3	Damien	28	None
	207	89	38	Marcus	161	≥$12.6 billion

See also

• Tropical cyclone
• Atlantic hurricane
• Pacific hurricane
• Typhoon
• North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone
• South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone
• South Pacific tropical cyclone
• South Atlantic tropical cyclone
• Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone

Notes

1. Number of tropical lows and tropical cyclones excludes Tropical Cyclone Raquel, which was considered to have been a part of the 2014-15 year.[8]

References

1. RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee (5 May 2015). List of Tropical Cyclone Names withdrawn from use due to a Cyclone's Negative Impact on one or more countries (PDF) (Tropical Cyclone Operational Plan for the South-East Indian Ocean and the Southern Pacific Ocean 2014). World Meteorological Organization. pp. 2B–1–2B–4 (23–26). Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
2. Nott, Jonathan (May 2004). "Palaeotempestology: the study of prehistoric tropical cyclones—a review and implications for hazard assessment". Environment International. 30 (3): 433–447. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2003.09.010. PMID 14987874.
3. Buchan, S.J.; Black, P.G.; Cohen, R.L. (1999). "The Impact of Tropical Cyclone Olivia on Australia's Northwest Shelf". Offshore Technology Conference. doi:10.4043/10791-MS.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. Padgett, Gary (1997–2011). "Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summaries". Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2012. Alt URL
6. National Climate Centre (3 July 2012). "Record-breaking La Niña events – Tropical cyclone activity during 2010–11 and 2011–12" (PDF). Australian Bureau of Meteorology. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
7. Nathan Paull and Miranda Forster (29 January 2013). "Floods recede as states count cost". Australian Associated Press. News Limited. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
8. Queensland Regional Office (September 2015). Tropical Cyclone Raquel (Report). Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

External links

• Australian Bureau of Meteorology
• Joint Typhoon Warning Center
• Tropical Cyclone Warning Center Jakarta (in Indonesian)
• Digital Typhoon