2009–10 Australian region cyclone season

The 2009–10 Australian region cyclone season was a below average tropical cyclone season, with eight tropical cyclones forming compared to an average of 12. The season began on 1 November 2009 and ran through until it end on 30 April 2010. The Australian region is defined as being to south of the equator, between the 90th meridian east

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....

and 160th meridian east

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....

. Tropical cyclones in this area are monitored by five Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWC's): Jakarta, Port Moresby, Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane, each of which have the power to name a tropical cyclone. The TCWC's in Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane are run by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, who designate significant tropical lows with a number and the U suffix. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...

also issues unofficial warnings for the region, designating significant tropical cyclones with the "S" suffix when they form west of 135°E, and the "P" suffix when they form east of 135°E.

Torrential rains produced by Tropical Cyclones Olga and Paul resulted in widespread flooding and damage in northern Australia. The combined losses from these storms reached A$508 million (US$500 million).

Seasonal forecasts

**Predictions of tropical cyclone activity**
Source:BOM's Seasonal Outlook for Tropical Cyclones.
Warning Center	Date	Average activity	Predicted activity	Actual activity
Whole	October 2009	12	7–13	8
Western	October 2009	7	5–8	4
Northern	October 2009	4	3–4	3
Eastern	October 2009	4	3–4	3
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Whole	November 2009	11	8	8
Western	November 2009	8	5	4
Source:City UHK City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements... 's Seasonal Outlook for Tropical Cyclones.

Bureau of Meteorology

For the first time this season, the Bureau of Meteorology's National Climate Center (NCC), issued a seasonal forecast for the whole basin between 90°E and 160°E and included forecasts for TCWC Jakarta and Port Moresby's area of responsibility. The NCC issued four separate forecasts, one for the whole basin and three for the subregions Western Northern and Eastern with each one covering the whole tropical cyclone year. For the whole region the NCC forecast that 7–13 tropical cyclones would develop or move into the region, compared with an average of 12 tropical cyclones. For the Western region, which the NCC defined as being between 90°E and 125°E, they forecast that 5–8 tropical cyclones would develop or move into the region compared to an average of seven. For the Northern region which the NCC defined as being between 125°E and 142.5°E, they forecast that 3–4 tropical cyclones would develop and/or move through the region compared to an average of four. However they also noted that the model used for predicting cyclones in this area had a "low skill." For the Eastern region which the NCC defined as being between 142.5°E and 160°E, they reported that 3–4 tropical cyclones would also develop and/or move through the region compared to an average of four.

City University of Hong Kong

For the first time, the Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre (GCACIC), of the City University of Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...

(CityUHK), have issued a forecasts of tropical cyclone activity

Tropical cyclone seasonal forecasting

Tropical cyclone seasonal forecasting is the process of predicting the number of tropical cyclones in one of the world's seven tropical cyclone basins during a particular tropical cyclone season. In the north Atlantic Ocean, one of the most widely publicized annual predictions comes from the...

for the cyclone season. A forecast predicting how many tropical cyclones there will be within the Australian region as a whole and for the western part of the basin between 90°E and 135°E, was released in November. For this season, the GCACIC predicted that the region as a whole would see activity, near the average, predicting that 8 tropical cyclones will be in the region, with 5 of them within the western part of the region.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence

On 8 December, TCWC Darwin reported that a tropical low pressure system had formed near the south coast of 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...

. As the system moved west north of the Top End on 10 December, TCWC Darwin issued a Tropical Cyclone Watch for coastal areas from Croker Island to Bathurst Island but excluding 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...

. Later that day, TCWC Perth cancelled all previous warnings and issued new watches for Kalumburu

Kalumburu, Western Australia

Kalumburu and Kalumburu Community are both bounded localities within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley Western Australia. Kalumburu Community is the northernmost settlement in Western Australia...

, south to Wyndham

Wyndham, Western Australia

Wyndham is the oldest and northernmost town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, located on the Great Northern Highway, northeast of Perth. It was established in 1885 as a result of a gold rush at Halls Creek, and it is now a port and service centre for the east Kimberley with a...

and west to Mitchell Plateau. The system hovered in the same general region for a day, before strengthening into to an category one cyclone, and was named by the TCWC Darwin as Tropical Cyclone Laurence. During the morning of 15 December, the cyclone strengthened into a category 2 cyclone before strengthening further into a category 3 system. In the early hours of 16 December, Severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence was upgraded to a strong category 4 with an eye starting to develop; later developing into a category 5 system. The cyclone crossed the Kimberley coast southeast of Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island may refer to the following places in Australia:*Cockatoo Island, New South Wales in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales...

on 16 December and passed near Derby

Derby, Western Australia

Derby is a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. At the 2006 census, Derby had a population of 3,093. Along with Broome and Kununurra, it is one of only three towns in the Kimberley to have a population over 2,000...

. On 17 December the cyclone weakened as it meandered over land dumping heavy rain over northern Kimberley. The cyclone's track during the day veered south-west and re-intensification was likely by 18 December as it moved over warm waters. As predicted, Laurence restrengthened into a tropical cyclone after emerging over the open water. Later on 19 December, Laurence intensified further into a category 2 cyclone. On 20 December, Laurence intensified into a category 3 cyclone, and while continuing to turn to the south, it intensified to a category 4 cyclone on the morning of 21 December. Later that morning, Laurence further intensified into a category 5 cyclone, with Red Alerts issued for towns from Pardoo to Sandfire, and inland to Yarrie being advised to seek shelter immediately. Later that afternoon, Laurence made landfall as a severe category 5 cyclone, and was downgraded to a category 4 cyclone as it made landfall. Reports of livestock, flash flooding and several homes have been badly damaged by Laurence, however, no loss of life has been reported. On 22 December, Laurence was downgraded to a category 2 cyclone, further downgraded to a category 1 cyclone later that day. On 23 December, Laurence was downgraded to a tropical low, as it continued to travel south. The cyclone's maxiumum wind gusts were reported to be 285 km/h.

Tropical Low 02U

A Tropical Low formed just north of Australia on 27 December. Tropical Low 02U moved into the Timor Sea on 3 January and a Cyclone watch has been declared for Kalumburu

Kalumburu, Western Australia

Kalumburu and Kalumburu Community are both bounded localities within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley Western Australia. Kalumburu Community is the northernmost settlement in Western Australia...

to Cape Don, including the capital of the Northern Territory, Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

. On 4 January, the low strengthened in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf

Joseph Bonaparte Gulf

Joseph Bonaparte Gulf is a large body of water off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia and Western Australia. It was named after Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and King of Naples and then Spain by French explorer and naturalist Nicholas Baudin in 1803...

. By 5 January the Tropical Low was located in the western Victoria River District and inundating the area with heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour (55.9 mph).

Tropical Low 03U (Edzani)

Tropical Low 03U developed near 9.6S, 94.4E, to the west of Indonesia and Malaysia, reported as 350 km northwest of the Cocos Islands. It was expected to intensify into a Tropical Cyclone within the next 48 hours, but did not reach Tropical Cyclone intensity. On 4 January, the tropical low moved west of 90E out of Australian area of responsibility, and it was later named Edzani by RSMC La Réunion and eventually strengthened into a very intense tropical cyclone.

Tropical Low 04U

The monsoon trough strengthened over northern Australia, and a tropical low developed off the Pilbara coast on 14 January. Shipping warnings were issued for this system but vertical wind shear prevented the system from intensifying into a Tropical Cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone Neville

An undesignated tropical low formed in Darwin's Area of Responsibility, near 11.9ºS 138.5ºE located in the northern 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...

. On 16 January, the tropical low was designated officially as 05U as it was expected to intensify and move eastward across the gulf. The system did not develop further before it crossed the Cape York Peninsula

Cape York Peninsula

Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...

on 18 January, but after emerging over 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...

it strengthened and was named Tropical Cyclone Neville on 20 January. It was downgraded to a tropical low later in the day. The low remained slow moving off the coast of Queensland until the 23rd, when it commenced an eastward motion, and then dissipated on the 24th.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Magda

On 19 January TCWC Perth and Darwin both reported that a Tropical Low had formed south of Timor

Timor

Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...

close to the boundary of their respective areas of responsibility. Shortly after this TCWC Perth issued the designation 06U. It strengthened as it moved southwards, and was designated Tropical Cyclone Magda on 20 January. It made landfall near Kuri Bay late on 21 January as a category three cyclone.

Post-storm analysis upgraded Magda to a category three severe tropical cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone Olga

On 20 January, RSMC Nadi and TCWC Brisbane reported that Tropical Depression 04F had moved into the region from the east and was re-designated as Tropical Low 07U. Late on 22 January, 07U had strengthened into a category one cyclone, and was named by TCWC Brisbane as Tropical Cyclone Olga. By 23 January the cyclone had strengthened to category two. On 24 January had weakened significantly was downgraded to a tropical low as it remained near stationary off Cairns. By 26 January the tropical low had crossed the lower Cape York Peninsula and was south of the 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...

. Warnings were issued for the coast area between Burketown and Booroloola

Borroloola, Northern Territory

Borroloola is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located on the McArthur River, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria. At the 2006 census, Borroloola had a population of 773, of whom 579 declared themselves indigenous....

. On 28 January Olga was predicted to come off shore and enter the south-western Gulf of Carpentaria and possibly restrengthen into a tropical cyclone again, possibly strengthening to a category three in the southeastern part of the Gulf. A separate outburst of convection developed south of Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

and tracked northeast toward 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....

on 28 January. On 29 January, Olga had restrengthened into a category 1 tropical cyclone. Finally, Olga degenerated to a tropical low the next day.

The remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Olga then slowly moved south over the next week and merged with a monsoon trough to produce widespread heavy rainfall across Queensland and New South Wales, helping to ease short-term rainfall deficits over these areas.

Olga killed 2 children from New Zealand Camp east of Honiara on the Solomon Islands before it became a cyclone.

Tropical Low 08U

Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului

On 11 March, TCWC Brisbane started to issue warnings on Tropical Depression 13F and designated it as Tropical low 09U. The depression became Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului, category 5 in the Pacific basin, but weakened to category 4 shortly after crossing the 160°E meridian. Ului was predicted to restrengthen back into a category 5 as it moved away from an upper level low and Severe Tropical Cyclone Tomas, however Ului remained as a category 4 and had weakened to a category 3 system in the early hours of 18 March and on the 19 to a category 2, but was expected to restrengthen. And as expected, Cyclone Ului became category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului on 20 March, and retained this strength until landfall near Airlie Beach, Queensland

Airlie Beach, Queensland

Airlie Beach is a town in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, the suburb of Airlie Beach itself had a population of 2,751. The greater Whitsunday region had a population of approximately 31,000...

on the fourth anniversary of Cyclone Larry

Cyclone Larry

Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in Australia during the 2005-06 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season. Larry originated as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea on 16 March and was monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in...

's landfall on Queensland.

Tropical Low 10U (Imani)

On 22 March, TCWC Perth assigned the designation of 10U to a developing tropical low which was located just inside the southwestern Indian Ocean. Six hours later the RSMC Réunion reported that near 10.9° S / 89.9° E in the north-eastern corner of its area of responsibility a tropical disturbance has developed.

The system stayed west of 90° E and drifted slowly to the southwest and intensified as the RSMC La Reunion took primary forecasting responsibility for the system. There the Mauritius Meteorological Service named the system as Moderate Tropical Storm Imani on 24 March.

Tropical Cyclone Paul

On 23 March TCWC Darwin reported that a tropical low had formed 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...

. On 27 March, Darwin reported that it had strengthened into Tropical Cyclone Paul and was moving southward parallel to the coast in north-east Arnhem Land

Arnhem Land

The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...

in 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...

. On 28 March the system had stalled and was nearly stationary in the vicinity of Cape Shield. By 29 March the tropical cyclone had strengthened to a Category 2 cyclone. Later that evening the tropical system made landfall just south of Cape Shield. Over land the tropical system weakened and by afternoon on 30 March was downgraded to a tropical low. Late on 31 March, after meandering over Arnhem Land the tropical system re-entered the 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 Cyclone Paul inundated the region with heavy rainfall. Groote Eylandt

Groote Eylandt

Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people who speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language)....

had reported 40 hours of non stop rain with close areas reporting over 280mm of precipitation. Bulman received 442mm in the same period. Northern Territory Chief Minister

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the legislature of the territory...

Paul Henderson

Paul Henderson (Australian politician)

Paul Raymond Henderson is an Australian politician and the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.Henderson was born in Croix-Chapeau, France, where his father was serving with the United States military. He was educated in Great Britain to A-Levels and studied mechanical...

declared an emergency with plans for food drops and evacuations in parts of East Arnhem Land.
Even though the system lost its strength it continued to produce vast rainfall totals. Up until 9am on 1 April 160mm fell at McArthur River Mine, their highest daily total in seven years. Borroloola's 185mm in the same period was an 11-year high and Bing Bong amassed 266mm, their highest in more than 14 years.

Tropical Cyclone Robyn

On 2 April TCWC Perth reported that a Tropical Low had formed at 11.0ºS 92.3ºE. Shortly afterward JTWC classified it as a Tropical Cyclone, reporting the position as 260 nm west of Cocos Island

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....

. Moving southwards, it strengthened to Tropical Cyclone Robyn on 3 April, reaching Category 2 the next day. During the next hours northwesterly wind shear increased and took its toll on the cyclone. After a counter-clockwise loop the cyclone was steered to the west, due to a strengthening ridge to the southwest of the system. On 6 April 06:00 UTC the TCWC Perth downgraded Robyn to a tropical low.

Tropical Cyclone Sean

On 21 April, TCWC Perth reported that a tropical low had formed at 10.3ºS, 116.4ºE, and designated it 13U. The next day it was upgraded to Tropical Cyclone Sean. Sean moved south and kept a steady track. It dissipated on 25 April.

TCWC Jakarta

TCWC Jakarta officially monitored tropical cyclones during the season from the Equator to 10S between 90E to 125E. For the second season in a row no tropical lows reached tropical cyclone strength within Jakarta's area of responsibility.

TCWC Port Moresby

Tropical cyclones that develop north of 10°S between 141°E and 160°E are assigned names by 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...

. Tropical cyclone formation in this area is rare, with no cyclones developing in it since 2007. No names were used this season.

Bureau of Meteorology

Since the start of the 2008–09, there has only been one list that the Bureau of Meteorology

Bureau of Meteorology

The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then...

have assigned names to tropical cyclones from. However the Bureau of Meteorology still operates the various TCWCs 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

& 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...

. They monitor all tropical cyclones that form within the Australian region, issuing special advisories when a cyclone forms in either TCWC Jakarta's or Port Moresby's area of responsibility.

Laurence	Magda	Neville	Olga	Paul	Robyn	Sean

Season effects

|-
! 01U/09S !! Laurence
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"|925 || Northern Territory, Western Australia || || || None ||
|-
! 02U !! N/A
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Northern Territory || Unknown || Unknown || None ||
|-
! 03U/07S !! Edzani
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || None || N/A || N/A || N/A ||
|-
! 04U !! N/A
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || None || N/A || N/A || N/A ||
|-
! 05U !! Neville
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Queensland || N/A || N/A || N/A
|-
! 06U/08S !! Magda
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Western Australia || Unknown || Unknown || None ||
|-
! 07U/09P !! Olga
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Solomon Islands, Queensland, Northern Territory || Unknown || Unknown || 2 ||
|-
! 08U !! N/A
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Northern Territory || Unknown || Unknown || None ||
|-
! 09U/20P !! Ului
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Queensland || || || Unknown ||
|-
! 10U/21S !! Imani
|style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || None || N/A || N/A || N/A ||
|-
! 11U/22P !! Paul
| style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Northern Territory || Unknown || Unknown || None
|-
! 12U/23S !! Robyn
| style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || None || N/A || N/A || N/A ||
|-
! 13U/24S !! Sean
| style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || style="background:#"| || Northern Territory || Unknown || Unknown || None ||
|-class="sortbottom"
|Colspan=2|13 systems || 8 December – 25 April || || 215 km/h (130 mph) || 925 || || $ || $81 million
|}

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Seasonal forecasts

Bureau of Meteorology

City University of Hong Kong

Severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence

Tropical Low 02U

Tropical Low 03U (Edzani)

Tropical Low 04U

Tropical Cyclone Neville

Severe Tropical Cyclone Magda

Tropical Cyclone Olga

Tropical Low 08U

Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului

Tropical Low 10U (Imani)

Tropical Cyclone Paul

Tropical Cyclone Robyn

Tropical Cyclone Sean

TCWC Jakarta

TCWC Port Moresby

Bureau of Meteorology

Season effects

See also

External links