1990–91 Australian region cyclone season
Encyclopedia
The 1990–91 Australian region cyclone season was an average cyclone season, with ten tropical cyclones occurring within the region between 90°E and 160°E. The season officially ran from November 1, 1990, to April 30, 1991 with the first disturbance of the season forming on 10 December and the last disturbance moving out of the region during 11 May. Six people were killed by Cyclone Joy when it made landfall on Australia. During the season, tropical cyclones were monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, who ran Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) in Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and Papua New Guinea National Weather Service also monitored systems within the basin during the season. The JTWC designated systems with a number and either a S or a P suffix depending on which side of 135E. The Bureau of Meteorology and Papua New Guinea national Weather Service both used the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and estimated windspeeds over a ten minute period, while the JTWC estimated sustained winds over a one minute period and are comparable to the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
, East Timor
while continuing to develop and move towards the south-east. During 10 January as the low became detectable on Darwin's radar, TCWC Darwin reported that the low had developed into a category one tropical cyclone and named it Laurence while reporting that the cyclone had reached its 10-minute peak intensity of 65 km/h (40 mph). Early on 11 January, the JTWC designated Laurence as 05S and initiated warnings on the cyclone with 1-minute windspeeds equivalent to a tropical depression. Later that day TCWC Darwin, reported that Laurence had weakened below cyclone intensity under the influence of vertical wind shear from low-level easterlies while the JTWC reported that Laurence had reached its 1-minute peak intensity of 65 km/h (40 mph). The JTWC kept Laurence at its peak intensity until 2000 WST (1200 UTC) the next day when they reported that the cyclone had weakened into a tropical depression. Laurence's remnants moved west over the next few days before dissipating near Rowley Shoals
early on 16 December. The only damage that was associated with the cyclone, was the sinking of a fishing boat on 11 December, however BoM considers this damage to be indirect because the boat was 150 km (93.2 mi) away from the cyclone centre and the radius of gales was less than 55 km (34.2 mi).
, Australia. The storm killed 5 people and caused extensive flooding. Joy reached Category 4 intensity off the coast of Cairns on 24 December 1990, before crossing the coast to the North of Townsville, on 26 December 1990 http://web.archive.org/web/20071028082523/http://www.ema.gov.au/ema/emadisasters.nsf/54273a46a9c753b3ca256d0900180220/fcf428cce63838c0ca256d3300058046 The remnants of Joy created a convergence zone
along the central Queensland coast, with many locations around the Mackay
region recording over 2000mm of rain during the following week.
Tropical Cyclone Laurence
On 8 December, a cluster of clouds developed over the Timor sea and moved towards the south-east, following a large scale mid-latitude forcing event. During the next day, the system developed into a tropical low about 360 km (223.7 mi) to the south-east of DiliDili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
while continuing to develop and move towards the south-east. During 10 January as the low became detectable on Darwin's radar, TCWC Darwin reported that the low had developed into a category one tropical cyclone and named it Laurence while reporting that the cyclone had reached its 10-minute peak intensity of 65 km/h (40 mph). Early on 11 January, the JTWC designated Laurence as 05S and initiated warnings on the cyclone with 1-minute windspeeds equivalent to a tropical depression. Later that day TCWC Darwin, reported that Laurence had weakened below cyclone intensity under the influence of vertical wind shear from low-level easterlies while the JTWC reported that Laurence had reached its 1-minute peak intensity of 65 km/h (40 mph). The JTWC kept Laurence at its peak intensity until 2000 WST (1200 UTC) the next day when they reported that the cyclone had weakened into a tropical depression. Laurence's remnants moved west over the next few days before dissipating near Rowley Shoals
Rowley Shoals
The Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about 260 km west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centered around , on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll covers an area of around 80 to 90 km² within the rim...
early on 16 December. The only damage that was associated with the cyclone, was the sinking of a fishing boat on 11 December, however BoM considers this damage to be indirect because the boat was 150 km (93.2 mi) away from the cyclone centre and the radius of gales was less than 55 km (34.2 mi).
Severe Tropical Cyclone Joy
Beginning 24 December 1990, the outer bands of Cyclone Joy reached QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia. The storm killed 5 people and caused extensive flooding. Joy reached Category 4 intensity off the coast of Cairns on 24 December 1990, before crossing the coast to the North of Townsville, on 26 December 1990 http://web.archive.org/web/20071028082523/http://www.ema.gov.au/ema/emadisasters.nsf/54273a46a9c753b3ca256d0900180220/fcf428cce63838c0ca256d3300058046 The remnants of Joy created a convergence zone
Convergence zone
Convergence zone usually refers to a region in the atmosphere where two prevailing flows meet and interact, usually resulting in distinctive weather conditions....
along the central Queensland coast, with many locations around the Mackay
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
region recording over 2000mm of rain during the following week.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Chris
- Chris, 16 to 23 February 1991, off Western Australia
Tropical Cyclone Daphne
- Daphne, 15 to 27 February 1991, Pacific Ocean, then crossed Australia to Indian Ocean
Severe Tropical Cyclone Errol
Cyclone Errol formed on 25 March 1991 and never hit land. The storm was responsible for a sinking of an Indonesian fishing boat. http://web.archive.org/web/20071020112221/http://www.ema.gov.au/ema/emadisasters.nsf/54273a46a9c753b3ca256d0900180220/fd3185292a8a58a0ca256d33000581a4Tropical Cyclone Fifi
A severe cyclone, Fifi struck Western Australia in mid April 1991. The storm killed 27 people and left 100,000 homes without power. http://web.archive.org/web/20071027081551/http://www.ema.gov.au/ema/emadisasters.nsf/6a1bf6b4b60f6f05ca256d1200179a5b/c44c9303a84c78beca256d3300057bfcSee also
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