Australian region tropical cyclone

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates 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. Within the Southern Hemisphere there are officially three areas where tropical cyclones develop on a regular basis: 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 Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, and the Papua New Guinea National Weather Service, 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 at least 65 km/h (40 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.

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 storms' intensities and locations.

Each of three tropical cyclone warning centres (TCWCs) of the Bureau of Meteorology in Perth, Darwin and Brisbane used its own tropical cyclone naming list until the 2008–09 season, when the three TCWCs started to use the single Australian national naming list. From the 2020–21 season, the three TCWCs were unified into one single TCWC which still monitors all tropical cyclones that form within the Australian region, including any within the areas of responsibility of TCWC Jakarta or TCWC Port Moresby. Later in 2021, the Australian tropical cyclone warning centre was officially named as TCWC Melbourne.Template:RA V Tropical cyclone operational plan

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, which runs from 1 November to 30 April.

Australian tropical cyclone outlook regions

The Bureau of Meteorology defines four regions within the Australian region which are used when the bureau issues tropical cyclone seasonal outlooks every year. These four regions are named the Western region, the Northwestern sub-region, the Northern region and the Eastern region. The Australian region overall averages eleven tropical cyclones in a season, and the bureau assesses the region as a whole to have a high level of accuracy when forecasting tropical cyclone activity.

The Western region encompasses the area east of 90°E and west of 125°E. The region covers the eastern Indian Ocean including the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, and waters off Western Australia west of Kuri Bay. The region also covers waters off Indonesia that include the main islands of Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores and the western half of Timor. The region averages seven tropical cyclones in a season, and the bureau assesses the region to have a low level of accuracy when forecasting tropical cyclone activity.

The Northwestern sub-region encompasses the area east of 105°E, west of 130°E and north of 25°S. The sub-region covers waters off Western Australia north of Shark Bay, and extends westward to Christmas Island. The sub-region also covers waters off Indonesia as far west as Java and as far east as Timor. The sub-region averages five tropical cyclones in a season, and the bureau assesses the sub-region to have a moderate level of accuracy when forecasting tropical cyclone activity.

The Northern region encompasses the area east of 125°E and west of 142.5°E. The region covers the Timor Sea, the Banda Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria. The region averages three tropical cyclones in a season, and the bureau assesses the region to have a very low level of accuracy when forecasting tropical cyclone activity.

The Eastern region encompasses the area east of 142.5°E and west of 160°E. The region covers waters east of Torres Strait and includes the Coral Sea and the Tasman Sea. Lord Howe Island lies within the region, but Norfolk Island lies east of the region, although the bureau continues to monitor tropical cyclones when they are a threat to the external territory. The region also covers waters off Papua New Guinea and western parts of the Solomon Islands. The region averages four tropical cyclones in a season, and the bureau assesses the region to have a low level of accuracy when forecasting tropical cyclone activity.

Seasons

Historical storm formation by month between 1990 and 2020

1960–1969

Season	TL	TC	STC	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damage	Retired names	Notes
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64							2  Audrey
1964–65							3  Flora
1965–66
1966–67							4  Dinah
1967–68
1968–69	15	13	1	3  Amber
1969–70	14	14	1	3  Ada	14	?	3  Ada

1970s

Season	TL	TC	STC	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damage	Retired names	Notes
1970–71	20	20	10	5  Sheila-Sophie	Unknown	?	1  Dora  3  Fiona-Gertie
1971–72	18	18	10	4  Emily	Unknown	?	4  Althea  3  Daisy  4  Emily
1972–73	15	15	8	3  "Flores"	>1,574	?	4  Madge	Deadliest Australian Region cyclone season ever recorded. Features the "Flores" cyclone. The deadliest cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere
1973–74	19	19	9	5  Pam	Unknown	?	2  Wanda
1974–75	16	16	7	5  Trixie	>71	?	4  Tracy  5  Trixie
1975–76	16	15	8	5  Joan	Unknown	?	5  Joan  3  David  3  Beth
1976–77	13	13	6	4  Ted	Unknown	?	4  Ted
1977–78	9	5	2	5  Alby	Unknown	?	5  Alby
1978–79	13	12	5	4  Hazel	Unknown	?
1979–80	15	15	9	5  Amy	Unknown	?	4  Simon

1980s

Season	TL	TC	STC	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damage	Retired Names	Notes
1980–81	14	14	11	5  Mabel	Unknown	Unknown	3  Cliff
1981–82	15	15	7	4  Bernie	Unknown	Unknown
1982–83	7	7	5	5  Elinor	Unknown	Unknown	4  Jane  5  Elinor
1983–84	22	21	11	5  Kathy	1	$19 million	5  Kathy  2  Lance
1984–85	20	18	11	5  Kristy	0	$3.5 million	3  Nigel  4  Sandy  3  Margot
1985–86	17	16	8	4  Victor	153	$250 million	3  Winifred  3  Manu
1986–87	9	7	2	4  Elsie	0	None	3  Connie  2  Jason  4  Elsie
1987–88	6	5	2	4  Gwenda-Ezenina	1	$17.9 million	2  Agi  2  Charlie  1  Herbie
1988–89	14	13	6	5  Orson	6	$93.9 million	3  Ilona  2  Delilah  4  Ned  5  Aivu  5  Orson
1989–90	14	14	4	5  Alex	Unknown	Unknown	2  Pedro  3  Felicity  2  Tina  4  Ivor

1990s

Season	TL	TC	STC	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damage	Retired names	Notes
1990–91	12	10	7	4  Marian	27		4  Joy  2  Daphne  2  Fifi
1991–92	12	10	9	5  Graham	5	Template:Ntsp	2  Mark  4  Ian
1992–93	8	8	4	4  Oliver	0	Template:Ntsp	4  Nina  2  Lena  4  Oliver  2  Roger  3  Adel
1993–94	14	12	7	5  Theodore	22		3  Naomi  3  Pearl  3  Quenton  5  Theodore  4  Sharon
1994–95	19	6	6	5  Chloe	1		4  Annette  4  Bobby  3  Violet  3  Warren  5  Chloe  4  Agnes
1995–96	19	15	9	4  Olivia	1	Template:Ntsp	4  Frank  3  Gertie  4  Barry  3  Celeste  2  Ethel  4  Kirsty  4  Olivia
1996–97	17	15	5	4  Pancho	34	Template:Ntsp	1  Lindsay  3  Fergus  3  Rachel  3  Justin  4  Rhonda
1997–98	11	9	4	4  Tiffany			1  Sid  4  Katrina
1998–99	21	14	9	5  Gwenda	8	Template:Ntsp	5  Thelma  3  Rona  5  Vance  4  Elaine  5  Gwenda	Features Gwenda, tied with Inigo as most intense cyclone recorded in the basin.
1999-00	14	12	5	5  Paul	0	Template:Ntsp	5  John  2  Steve  3  Tessi  5  Rosita
	147	111	65	Gwenda	98	≥Template:Ntsp

2000s

Season	TL	TC	STC	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damage	Retired names	Notes
2000–01	14	8	3	5  Sam	2	Template:Ntsp	5  Sam  3  Abigail
2001–02	14	10	3	5  Chris	19	Template:Ntsp	1  Upia  5  Chris
2002–03	11	9	3	5  Inigo	62	Template:Ntsp	5  Erica  1  Graham  5  Inigo  1  Epi	Features Inigo, tied with Gwenda as most intense cyclone recorded in the basin.
2003–04	13	10	5	5  Fay	0	Template:Ntsp	4  Monty  5  Fay
2004–05	13	10	5	5  Ingrid	5	Template:Ntsp	3  Harvey  5  Ingrid
2005–06	18	12	8	5  Glenda	0	Template:Ntsp	3  Clare  4  Larry  5  Glenda  5  Monica	Features Monica, most intense cyclone ever recorded in the basin in terms of sustained winds.
2006–07	8	5	3	5  George	3		5  George
2007–08	14	10	3	4  Pancho	149	Template:Ntsp	3  Guba  2  Helen  2  Durga
2008–09	24	10	3	5  Hamish	5	Template:Ntsp	1  Dominic  5  Hamish
2009–10	13	8	4	5  Laurence	3	Template:Ntsp	5  Laurence  3  Magda
	137	93	41	Inigo	249	≥Template:Ntsp

2010s

Season	TL	TC	STC	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damage	Retired names	Notes
2010–11	28	11	6	5  Yasi	3	Template:Ntsp	1  Tasha  3  Carlos	Template:Zwsp
2011–12	21	7	3	3  Lua	16	> Template:Ntsp	3  Heidi  4  Jasmine  3  Lua
2012–13	16	9	6	4  Narelle	20	Template:Ntsp	1  Oswald  4  Rusty
2013–14	17	10	5	5  Ita	22	Template:Ntsp	3  Christine  5  Ita
2014–15	18	9	7	5  Marcia	1	> Template:Ntsp	4  Lam  5  Marcia  3  Olwyn  4  Quang
2015–16	11	3	0	2  Stan	0	None	None
2016–17	30	9	3	5  Ernie	16	Template:Ntsp	4  Debbie
2017–18	23	11	3	5  Marcus	41	Template:Ntsp	5  Marcus
2018–19	25	11	5	5  Veronica	14	Template:Ntsp	4  Trevor  5  Veronica
2019–20	19	9	3	4  Ferdinand	28	$4.3 million	3  Damien  1  Harold  1  Mangga
	207	89	38	Marcus	161	≥Template:Ntsp

2020s

Season	TL	TC	STC	Strongest storm	Deaths	Damage	Retired names	Notes
2020–21	27	8	3	5  Niran	272	$518.7 million	3  Seroja	Second-deadliest Australian region cyclone season on record.
2021–22	32	10	2	4  Vernon	4	$75 million	2  Seth
2022–23	25	7	5	5  Darian  5  Ilsa	8	$225 million	5  Freddy  3  Gabrielle  5  Ilsa
2023–24	11	8	6	5  Jasper	1	$675 million	5  Jasper  3  Kirrily  4  Megan
2024–25	24	12	8	5  Zelia	52	> $1.55 billion
Totals	119	44	24	Darian and Ilsa	285	$3.04 billion	8 names

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
• Australian monsoon

External links

• Australian Bureau of Meteorology Template:Webarchive
• Joint Typhoon Warning Center Template:Webarchive
• Tropical Cyclone Warning Center Jakarta Template:In lang
• Digital Typhoon