1997-98 Australian region cyclone season
Encyclopedia
The 1997–98 Australian region cyclone season was an event in the ongoing cycle of tropical cyclone
formation. It ran from 1 November 1997 to 30 April 1998. The regional tropical cyclone operational plan also defines a tropical cyclone year separately from a tropical cyclone season, and the "tropical cyclone year" ran from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998.
Tropical cyclones in this area were monitored by four Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs): the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Perth
, Darwin
, and Brisbane; and TCWC Port Moresby
in Papua New Guinea
.
).
in late December and moved into the Timor Sea
as the monsoon trough developed near Australia. A tropical depression had formed on 26 December near Darwin, Australia. The storm reached gale force six hours after developing and was named Sid by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Darwin. Sid moved to the east, affecting the Northern Territory. Sid turned southestward, crossing the Northern Territory. Sid moved fully southward, in which it weakened due to wind shear. By 28 December, Sid had weakened to below gale-status and residual low meandered around for a few days.
By 3 January, the low re-entered the Western Gulf and the TCWC in Darwin began to re-issue advisories on the low, which was forecast to re-intensify. The low became a depression and drifted around for another day. On 4 January, scatterometer data at 1330 UTC indicated the presence of 30-35 mph winds over the water. The depression weakened back into a low on 5 January and advisories were stopped again. However, on 7 January, the TCWC in Darwin re-issued advisories for a third time and was forecast to re-intensify, but this did not occur. The last warning was issued on the depression at 1800 UTC. The remnant low moved into the Gulf of Carpentaria and across Queensland. The TCWC in Brisbane, Australia issued bulletins on 10 January for the low which was once Sid. The low remained quasi-stationary ro a couple of days near Townsville. The bulletins were discontinued the next day. Heavy rains fell and several rivers flooded when it was the remnant low on 11 January.
within the monsoon trough. Selwyn rapidly strengthened into a tropical cyclone on 27 December and reached its maximum intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h) on 28 December. Selwyn went at a west-southwesterly motion, bringing it to a position almost 1000 nautical miles (1,852 km) west of Broome by mid-day 29 December. After this point, Selwyn began to weaken rapidly as it moved west-northwesterly slowly. Warnings were discontinued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Perth, Australia
on 31 December because winds were forecast to fall below gale-force. The remnant low drifted westward and then to the southwest with convection flaring up once in a while. Warnings were re-issued in early January due to forecasts that Selwyn would re-intensify, but this did not occur. The remnant low (formerly known as Selwyn) was tracked until 3 January.
, this proved to be the northernmost point of Katrina's track as the storm turned east-southeast and then southeast, fluctuating in hurricane strength. On 9 January, Cyclone Katrina threatened Vanuatu
when it stalled about 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) west-northwest of Port Vila
and reversed direction and moved west due a high pressure system. On 11 January, Katrina moved south of Rennell Island
and then crossed back into the Brisbane
area six hours later where it crossed the 160E on its eastward journey, then the storm turned west where it maintained that course until 15 January. On the 15th, the storm moved south-southwest where it reached Category 2 strength with a barometric pressure of 940 mbar. Katrina weakened rapidly and slowed before making a tight loop on 17 January and 18 January. After completing the loop, Cyclone Katrina moved east for 12 hours before moving east-southeast for three days. During that time, Katrina briefly reached Category 1 strength once more before slowing down and being affected by wind shear
. By 24 January, Katrina had weakened to a tropical depression and on 25 January, Katrina dissipated 250 nautical miles (463 km) east of Townsville.
started issuing advisories on the low 24 January. The system was of land origin and had entered the ocean. A brief surge of southeasterly flow helped the system strengthen and was given the name Tiffany the next day. Tiffany was a small system and strengthened rapidly with an estimated 40 mi/h gain in a 12-hour period on 26 January. Hurricane-status was reached at 1200 UTC about 125 nautical miles (232 km) north of Port Hedland. The peak intensity of 930 millibars was recorded on 27 January with the maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (140 by the JTWC). Tiffany remained at 115 mi/h for 18–24 hours before beginning to weaken. The cyclone went to the west-southwest, farther and farther away from the Australian coastline. By 29 January, the system fell below hurricane-status and Perth issued its last warning the next day. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center followed the next day. No damage was reported with the system.
, Australia
. The storm moved westward reaching Category 1 status before making landfall on the eastern gulf coast of the Northern Territory
. Moving back out over the Timor Sea
, Les hugged the coast and regained strength before making a second landfall and dissipating. Les caused extensive flooding and damage in the town of Katherine and there was one death.
where it strengthened into Cyclone Victor in early February. The weakening Tropical Cyclone Victor accelerated to the middle of the Indian Ocean where it was again renamed Cindy by the Mauritius Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre, and then finally weakened on 17 February. The time from the beginning of Cyclone Katrina to the ending of Cyclone Cindy was around 50 days.
on 26 February. After that the storm dissipated while moving inland. There were no reports of deaths or damage from Tropical Storm May.
After approaching the coast of Queensland, Nathan came under the influence of the monsoon flow from Tropical Cyclone Yali. The storm moved east-northeasterly very rapidly and became more easterly on 25 March. By the morning of 26 March, the circulation was becoming sheared. The shear was possibly coming from an extratropical system (formerly known as Yali). Nathan turned to the south and the Brisbane TCWC downgraded the system into a tropical low, ceasing advisories. By 1200 UTC on 27 March, Nathan showed signs of redevelopment near the Chesterfield Islands
. The JTWC reissued advisories and upped the winds to 50 mi/h. Nathan moved westward and approached Australia again, weakening slowly.
A scatterometer pass on 29 March indicated a small circulation with winds of about 40 mi/h and a Willis Island report the next day indicated that Nathan only had 35 mi/h easterly winds. The JTWC kept Nathan as a minimal tropical cyclone until 31 March when it was downgraded into a weakening low.
).
on 16 April 1998. The depression moved southwestward before making landfall in Western Australia
on the 19th. There were reports of heavy rain but no report of damage or deaths from the unnamed storm.
. Tropical cyclones are named if they are non-frontal low pressure systems of synoptic scale
developing over warm waters, or if Dvorak
intensity analysis indicate the presence of gale force
or stronger winds near the centre. Therefore, tropical systems with gales in one or more quadrants, but not near the centre, are not named. All names assigned in the Australian region are selected sequentially. Only the names used during this cyclone season are listed below. The complete list of names for each basin are found in the World Meteorological Organization
's official lists.
Each Australian Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (Perth
, Darwin
, and Brisbane
) maintains a list of names arranged alphabetically and alternating male and female. Tropical cyclones that develop in the South-East Indian Ocean are assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Perth. This region includes the areas east of 90°E
, south of the Equator
, and west of 125°E
. Tropical cyclones that develop south of the Equator between 125°E
and 141°E
are assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Darwin, Northern Territory
. This area includes most of the cyclones that form in the Arafura Sea
and Western Gulf of Carpentaria
. Tropical cyclones in the Coral Sea
and Eastern Gulf of Carpentaria between 141°E
and 160°E
and south of 10°S
are assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Brisbane, Queensland
.
Additionally, the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Port Moresby
, Papua New Guinea
reserves the right to name cyclones that develop in the Solomon Sea
and Gulf of Papua
, north of 10°S
between 141°E
and 160°E
. Names are selected randomly from their list and retired once they are used. No cyclones were named by this warning centre during the 1997-98 season.
Perth
Darwin
Brisbane
Additionally, two cyclones that were named by Fiji Meteorological Service
- Nute and Yali - moved into Brisbane's area of responsibility.
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
formation. It ran from 1 November 1997 to 30 April 1998. The regional tropical cyclone operational plan also defines a tropical cyclone year separately from a tropical cyclone season, and the "tropical cyclone year" ran from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998.
Tropical cyclones in this area were monitored by four Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs): the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, and Brisbane; and TCWC Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
Tropical Cyclone Nute
Entered the Australian region on 19 November (See 1997-98 South Pacific cyclone season1997-98 South Pacific cyclone season
The 1997–98 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the most active and the longest tropical cyclone seasons on record, with 16 tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific Ocean basin between 160°E and 120°W...
).
Tropical Cyclone Sid
A low-pressure system formed over the Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
in late December and moved into the Timor Sea
Timor Sea
The Timor Sea is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean....
as the monsoon trough developed near Australia. A tropical depression had formed on 26 December near Darwin, Australia. The storm reached gale force six hours after developing and was named Sid by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Darwin. Sid moved to the east, affecting the Northern Territory. Sid turned southestward, crossing the Northern Territory. Sid moved fully southward, in which it weakened due to wind shear. By 28 December, Sid had weakened to below gale-status and residual low meandered around for a few days.
By 3 January, the low re-entered the Western Gulf and the TCWC in Darwin began to re-issue advisories on the low, which was forecast to re-intensify. The low became a depression and drifted around for another day. On 4 January, scatterometer data at 1330 UTC indicated the presence of 30-35 mph winds over the water. The depression weakened back into a low on 5 January and advisories were stopped again. However, on 7 January, the TCWC in Darwin re-issued advisories for a third time and was forecast to re-intensify, but this did not occur. The last warning was issued on the depression at 1800 UTC. The remnant low moved into the Gulf of Carpentaria and across Queensland. The TCWC in Brisbane, Australia issued bulletins on 10 January for the low which was once Sid. The low remained quasi-stationary ro a couple of days near Townsville. The bulletins were discontinued the next day. Heavy rains fell and several rivers flooded when it was the remnant low on 11 January.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Selwyn
Tropical Cyclone Selwyn formed 650 kilometers east-southeast of Christmas IslandChristmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
within the monsoon trough. Selwyn rapidly strengthened into a tropical cyclone on 27 December and reached its maximum intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h) on 28 December. Selwyn went at a west-southwesterly motion, bringing it to a position almost 1000 nautical miles (1,852 km) west of Broome by mid-day 29 December. After this point, Selwyn began to weaken rapidly as it moved west-northwesterly slowly. Warnings were discontinued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Perth, Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
on 31 December because winds were forecast to fall below gale-force. The remnant low drifted westward and then to the southwest with convection flaring up once in a while. Warnings were re-issued in early January due to forecasts that Selwyn would re-intensify, but this did not occur. The remnant low (formerly known as Selwyn) was tracked until 3 January.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Katrina
Cyclone Katrina was one of the longest-lived South Pacific cyclones on record, lasting 24 days while moving erratically east of Australia. Katrina formed on 1 January 1998 340 nautical miles (630 km) east-northeast of Cairns and 425 nautical miles (787 km) southeast of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Katrina became a tropical storm on 3 January and was moving slowly to the east-northeast. The cyclone was affected by Cyclone Susan which was 1000 nautical miles (1,852 km) east of Katrina. On 7 January, Susan moved further south allowing Katrina to intensify as it neared the Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, this proved to be the northernmost point of Katrina's track as the storm turned east-southeast and then southeast, fluctuating in hurricane strength. On 9 January, Cyclone Katrina threatened Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
when it stalled about 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) west-northwest of Port Vila
Port Vila
Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...
and reversed direction and moved west due a high pressure system. On 11 January, Katrina moved south of Rennell Island
Rennell Island
Rennell Island, locally known as Mungava, is the main island of two inhabited islands that make up the Rennell and Bellona Province in the Solomon Islands. Rennell Island has a land area of that is about long and wide. It is the second largest raised coral atoll in the world with the largest lake...
and then crossed back into the Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
area six hours later where it crossed the 160E on its eastward journey, then the storm turned west where it maintained that course until 15 January. On the 15th, the storm moved south-southwest where it reached Category 2 strength with a barometric pressure of 940 mbar. Katrina weakened rapidly and slowed before making a tight loop on 17 January and 18 January. After completing the loop, Cyclone Katrina moved east for 12 hours before moving east-southeast for three days. During that time, Katrina briefly reached Category 1 strength once more before slowing down and being affected by wind shear
Wind shear
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere...
. By 24 January, Katrina had weakened to a tropical depression and on 25 January, Katrina dissipated 250 nautical miles (463 km) east of Townsville.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Tiffany
Tropical Cyclone Tiffany began as a tropical low about 1000 nautical miles (1,852 km) northeast of Broome. TCWC in Perth, AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
started issuing advisories on the low 24 January. The system was of land origin and had entered the ocean. A brief surge of southeasterly flow helped the system strengthen and was given the name Tiffany the next day. Tiffany was a small system and strengthened rapidly with an estimated 40 mi/h gain in a 12-hour period on 26 January. Hurricane-status was reached at 1200 UTC about 125 nautical miles (232 km) north of Port Hedland. The peak intensity of 930 millibars was recorded on 27 January with the maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (140 by the JTWC). Tiffany remained at 115 mi/h for 18–24 hours before beginning to weaken. The cyclone went to the west-southwest, farther and farther away from the Australian coastline. By 29 January, the system fell below hurricane-status and Perth issued its last warning the next day. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center followed the next day. No damage was reported with the system.
Tropical Cyclone Les
Les formed on 23 January 1998 near DarwinDarwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The storm moved westward reaching Category 1 status before making landfall on the eastern gulf coast of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. Moving back out over the Timor Sea
Timor Sea
The Timor Sea is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean....
, Les hugged the coast and regained strength before making a second landfall and dissipating. Les caused extensive flooding and damage in the town of Katherine and there was one death.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Victor-Cindy
A low from Cyclone Katrina continued to move to the west across Northern Australia, and emerged in the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
where it strengthened into Cyclone Victor in early February. The weakening Tropical Cyclone Victor accelerated to the middle of the Indian Ocean where it was again renamed Cindy by the Mauritius Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre, and then finally weakened on 17 February. The time from the beginning of Cyclone Katrina to the ending of Cyclone Cindy was around 50 days.
Tropical Cyclone May
May formed from an area of low pressure on 25 February 1998 near the Australian coast. May moved southward before making landfall near Mornington IslandMornington Island
Mornington Island is the northern most of 22 islands that form the Wellesley Islands group. The island is located in the Gulf of Carpentaria at and is part of the Gulf Country region in the Australian state of Queensland. The Manowar and Rocky Islands Important Bird Area lies about 40 km to...
on 26 February. After that the storm dissipated while moving inland. There were no reports of deaths or damage from Tropical Storm May.
Tropical Cyclone Nathan
Tropical Cyclone Nathan formed from a tropical low embedded weak monsoon trough that had formed when Tropical Cyclone Yali had reached cyclone intensity. Upper-level outflow was favorable, but wind shear made it restricted for rapid development. Nathan started off developing rapidly, the first warning, issued on 21 March, classified the system as a 45 mi/h tropical cyclone. Nathan was a small system in an environment of weak steering flow, causing the storm to move erattically but slowly to the east. Nathan turned southward, coming to within 100 nautical miles (185.2 km) of Cooktown, Australia on 23 March. The TCWC in Brisbane kept Nathan's wind speed at 50-60 mph, whereas the Joint Typhoon Warning Center boosted it up to hurricane-strength on 23 March.After approaching the coast of Queensland, Nathan came under the influence of the monsoon flow from Tropical Cyclone Yali. The storm moved east-northeasterly very rapidly and became more easterly on 25 March. By the morning of 26 March, the circulation was becoming sheared. The shear was possibly coming from an extratropical system (formerly known as Yali). Nathan turned to the south and the Brisbane TCWC downgraded the system into a tropical low, ceasing advisories. By 1200 UTC on 27 March, Nathan showed signs of redevelopment near the Chesterfield Islands
Chesterfield Islands
Chesterfield Islands is a french archipelago of New Caledonia located in the Coral Sea, 550 km northwest of Grande Terre the main island of New Caledonia. Chesterfield Islands are a 120 km long and 70 km broad structure composed with 11 islets and many reefs...
. The JTWC reissued advisories and upped the winds to 50 mi/h. Nathan moved westward and approached Australia again, weakening slowly.
A scatterometer pass on 29 March indicated a small circulation with winds of about 40 mi/h and a Willis Island report the next day indicated that Nathan only had 35 mi/h easterly winds. The JTWC kept Nathan as a minimal tropical cyclone until 31 March when it was downgraded into a weakening low.
Tropical Cyclone Yali
Entered the Australian region on 25 March (See 1997-98 South Pacific cyclone season1997-98 South Pacific cyclone season
The 1997–98 South Pacific cyclone season was one of the most active and the longest tropical cyclone seasons on record, with 16 tropical cyclones occurring within the South Pacific Ocean basin between 160°E and 120°W...
).
Tropical Low (35S)
A low formed off the coast of AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 16 April 1998. The depression moved southwestward before making landfall in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
on the 19th. There were reports of heavy rain but no report of damage or deaths from the unnamed storm.
Storm names
Tropical cyclones are assigned names by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology or Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Tropical cyclones are named if they are non-frontal low pressure systems of synoptic scale
Synoptic scale meteorology
The synoptic scale in meteorology is a horizontal length scale of the order of 1000 kilometres or more. This corresponds to a horizontal scale typical of mid-latitude depressions...
developing over warm waters, or if Dvorak
Dvorak technique
The Dvorak technique is a widely used system to subjectively estimate tropical cyclone intensity based solely on visible and infrared satellite images. Several agencies issue Dvorak intensity numbers for cyclones of sufficient intensity...
intensity analysis indicate the presence of gale force
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
or stronger winds near the centre. Therefore, tropical systems with gales in one or more quadrants, but not near the centre, are not named. All names assigned in the Australian region are selected sequentially. Only the names used during this cyclone season are listed below. The complete list of names for each basin are found in the World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
's official lists.
Each Australian Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
) maintains a list of names arranged alphabetically and alternating male and female. Tropical cyclones that develop in the South-East Indian Ocean are assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Perth. This region includes the areas east of 90°E
90th meridian east
The meridian 90° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.The Ninety East Ridge is named after the meridian....
, south of the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
, and west of 125°E
125th meridian east
The meridian 125° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. Tropical cyclones that develop south of the Equator between 125°E
125th meridian east
The meridian 125° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 141°E
141st meridian east
The 141st meridian east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
are assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Darwin, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. This area includes most of the cyclones that form in the Arafura Sea
Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean overlying the continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea.-Geography:The Arafura Sea is bordered by Torres Strait and through that the Coral Sea to the east, the Gulf of Carpentaria to the south, the Timor Sea to the west and the Banda and Ceram...
and Western Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
. Tropical cyclones in the Coral Sea
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands...
and Eastern Gulf of Carpentaria between 141°E
141st meridian east
The 141st meridian east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 160°E
160th meridian east
The meridian 160° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and south of 10°S
10th parallel south
The 10th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 10 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
are assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Brisbane, Queensland
Queensland
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...
.
Additionally, the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
reserves the right to name cyclones that develop in the Solomon Sea
Solomon Sea
The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II.-Extent:...
and Gulf of Papua
Gulf of Papua
The Gulf of Papua is a 400 kilometer wide region on the south shore of New Guinea. Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River and Purari River, flow into the gulf, making it a large delta. While the western coast is characterized by swampy tidal...
, north of 10°S
10th parallel south
The 10th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 10 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
between 141°E
141st meridian east
The 141st meridian east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 160°E
160th meridian east
The meridian 160° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. Names are selected randomly from their list and retired once they are used. No cyclones were named by this warning centre during the 1997-98 season.
Perth
- Selwyn - Tiffany - Victor
Darwin
- Sid
Brisbane
- Katrina - Les - May - Nathan
Additionally, two cyclones that were named by Fiji Meteorological Service
Fiji Meteorological Service
The Fiji Meteorological Service is a Department of the government of Fiji responsible for providing weather forecasts and is based in Nadi. Since 1995, FMS has been responsible for naming and tracking tropical cyclones in the Southwest Pacific region...
- Nute and Yali - moved into Brisbane's area of responsibility.
See also
- List of Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons
- Atlantic hurricane seasons: 19971997 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1997 Atlantic hurricane season is the most recent Atlantic hurricane season to feature no tropical cyclones in August. The season officially began on June 1, 1997, and lasted until November 30, 1997...
, 19981998 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1998 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1998, and lasted until November 30, 1998. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin; however, the season extended through December 1 as Hurricane Nicole remained... - Pacific hurricane seasons: 19971997 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 1997 Pacific hurricane season was a very active hurricane season. With hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in damage, this season was the costliest and one of the deadliest Pacific hurricane seasons. This was due to a strong El Niño...
, 19981998 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 1998 Pacific hurricane season was a moderately active Pacific hurricane season with seven tropical cyclones directly affecting land. The season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1 in the central Pacific, and ended on November 30; these dates conventionally delimit... - Pacific typhoon seasons: 19971997 Pacific typhoon seasonThe 1997 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1997, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern...
, 19981998 Pacific typhoon seasonThe 1998 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November... - North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 19971997 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 1997 North Indian Ocean cyclone season had no bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.-Season summary:Five tropical...
, 19981998 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 1998 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an active season in annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the...
External links
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
- Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology.
- World Meteorological Organization
- RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee Final Report
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center 1998 ATCR
- [ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon2/home/ncc/cyclone/cyclones_newformat.zip Raw cyclone track data]
- BoM Monthly Significant Weather Summaries
- 1997-98 Annual Summary (Western Australia)
- September 1997 to June 1998 Tropical Cyclone Summaries and Operational Track Data