The 1996–97 Australian region cyclone season was an above average

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

season. It ran from 1 November 1996 to 30 April 1997. 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 1996 to 30 June 1997. Tropical cyclones in this area were monitored by four Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs): the

Australian Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government that is responsible for providing weather forecasts and meteorological services to Australia and neighbouring countries. It was established in 1906 unde ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Darwin, and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

; and TCWC

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. __TOC__

Season summary

ImageSize = width:800 height:210 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:2 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/07/1996 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TL value:rgb(0.43,0.76,0.92) legend:Tropical_Low_=_<63_km/h_(<39_mph) id:C1 value:rgb(0.3,1,1) legend:Category_1_=_63–88_km/h_(39-55_mph) id:C2 value:rgb(0.75,1,0.75) legend:Category_2_=_89–117_km/h_(55-73_mph) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.85,0.55) legend:Category_3_=_118–159_km/h_(73-99_mph) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.45,0.54) legend:Category_4_=_160–199_km/h_(99-124_mph) id:C5 value:rgb(0.55,0.46,0.9) legend:Category_5_=_≥200_km/h_(≥124_mph) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:09/07/1996 till:13/07/1996 color:C1 text:"Lindsay (C1)" from:28/10/1996 till:01/11/1996 color:C1 text:"Melanie (C1)" from:12/12/1996 till:15/12/1996 color:C1 text:"Nicholas (C1)" from:13/12/1996 till:19/12/1996 color:C2 text:"Ophelia (C2)" from:23/12/1996 till:25/12/1996 color:C2 text:" Fergus (C2)" from:26/12/1996 till:03/01/1997 color:C2 text:"Phil (C2)" from:02/01/1997 till:10/01/1997 color:C3 text:"Rachel (C3)" from:04/01/1997 till:06/01/1997 color:C4 text:" Drena (C4)" barset:break from:07/01/1997 till:12/01/1997 color:C2 text:"18S (C2)" from:18/01/1997 till:22/01/1997 color:C5 text: barset:break barset:skip from:24/01/1997 till:31/01/1997 color:C2 text:"Pancho (C5)" from:09/02/1997 till:12/02/1997 color:C1 text:"Gillian (C1)" from:16/02/1997 till:19/02/1997 color:C2 text:"Harold (C2)" from:23/02/1997 till:25/02/1997 color:C1 text:"Ita (C1)" from:05/03/1997 till:29/03/1997 color:C3 text:" Justin (C3)" from:10/05/1997 till:16/05/1997 color:C4 text:"Rhonda (C4)" barset:break bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/07/1996 till:01/08/1996 text:July from:01/08/1996 till:01/09/1996 text:August from:01/09/1996 till:01/10/1996 text:September from:01/10/1996 till:01/11/1996 text:October from:01/11/1996 till:01/12/1996 text:November from:01/12/1996 till:01/01/1997 text:December from:01/01/1997 till:01/02/1997 text:January from:01/02/1997 till:01/03/1997 text:February from:01/03/1997 till:01/04/1997 text:March from:01/04/1997 till:01/05/1997 text:April from:01/05/1997 till:01/06/1997 text:May from:01/06/1997 till:01/07/1997 text:June TextData = pos:(569,23) text:"(For further details, please see" pos:(713,23) text:"

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

Systems

Tropical Cyclone Lindsay

On 9 July, TCWC Perth reported that a tropical low had developed within the

near-equatorial trough The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...

of low pressure, located about to the northeast of the Cocos Islands. During that day the system moved to the southwest around a weak mid-upper level

anticyclone A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...

, before it came under the starting to move southwards during 10 July. At 1000 UTC that day, TCWC Perth reported that the low had developed into a category one tropical cyclone, and named it Lindsay as the system reached its peak 10-minute sustained windspeeds of . At 1500 UTC, the JTWC reported that Lindsay was becoming better organized and issued a

Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formi ...

on the system. Six hours later while Lindsay was at its 1-minute peak intensity of , the JTWC designated the system Tropical Cyclone 01S and started to issue warnings on it. After the JTWC had initiated warnings on the system, it began to rapidly weaken as it came under the influence of strong upper level north-westerlies. During the next day, both the JTWC and TCWC Perth issued their final advisories on Lindsay as it weakened below cyclone intensity and became extratropical. Lindsay's remnants were tracked as they moved towards the southeast until they were absorbed into a broad trough of low pressure on 13 July.

Tropical Cyclone Melanie–Bellamine

Melanie formed from a low near

Cocos Island Cocos Island () is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 15 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Puntarenas Province, Province of ...

on 30 October 1996. It deepened to a category 2 storm overnight on 1 November and it moved westwards, with a subsequent name change to Bellamine. It dissipated on 11 November.

Tropical Cyclone Nicholas

tropical depression A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

formed on 12 December 1996 near

Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...

. The depression moved south before being classified as a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

on 14 December and was named Nicholas. The storm made landfall west of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, Australia as a

tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its lo ...

on the 15th and dissipated the next day.

Tropical Cyclone Ophelia

Ophelia formed between two tropical cyclones, Nicholas (near the north Kimberley coast) and Elvina near 80°E, to the east of

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

on 13 December 1996. Its track was somewhat unusual in that it moved towards the southeast for most of its lifetime. The weak cyclone had no impact on Christmas Island or northwest Australia and dissipated on 19 December.

Tropical Cyclone Fergus

Fergus was a Category 2 storm that formed in the Pacific Ocean, lasting from 29 December to 31 December 1996 until becoming extratropical near New Zealand. The storm dropped heavy rainfall across an already saturated area, with totals of over near

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. The rainfall led to widespread flooding and forced many to evacuate. Severe road damage occurred, with some roads remaining closed for over a week. Gusty winds from Fergus downed trees and power lines, and caused property damage.

Tropical Cyclone Phil

A weak cyclone, Phil crossed the northern part of Australia between 26 December and 27 December 1996. The storm then moved westward where it encountered vertical

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

and dissipated on 31 December. It reformed in the South-West Indian Ocean basin on 8 January 1997 and remained as a tropical disturbance until it finally dissipated on 16 January.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rachel

On 31 December, a tropical low formed from a monsoon trough inland, near Darwin. At that time, the convection was persistent on the mid-level circulation of the low as it moved slowly to the southwest. On 3 January, with favourable environmental conditions—including warm ocean waters and low wind shear, the low strengthened to Tropical Cyclone ''Rachel'', while located to the south-southwest of Melville Island. The cyclone then slowly accelerated to the southwest, before passing over Northern

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

, which weakened the storm. On 5 January, it moved offshore near

Cape Leveque Cape Leveque is at the northernmost tip of the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Cape Leveque is (via the Cape Leveque Road) north of Broome, and is remote with few facilities. Nevertheless, the Cape's sandy beac ...

as it moved parallel to the coastline. It rapidly strengthened to a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone as it accelerated to the south-southeast, before making a direct hit on

Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

on the afternoon of 7 January. It rapidly weakened inland and it was last noted on 10 January as it entered

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Despite the cyclone passing directly over

, the damages are mostly minor. The power was lost in parts of the town, and some trees are uprooted. There were also reports of flooding. The highest accumulated rainfall by Rachel was on Yarrie, with in over 24 hours.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Drena

Cyclone Drena crossed from the South Pacific on 4 January with winds of 140 miles per hour. The storm again crossed out 2 days later.

Tropical Cyclone 18S

Severe Tropical Cyclone Pancho–Helinda

Pancho formed to the north of

Cocos Islands The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...

during 20 January 1997. It moved south towards Cocos Islands, then moved southwest, intensifying rapidly to a Category 4 or Category 5 cyclone with an estimated central pressure of 925 hPa by the morning of 22 January. Pancho then was renamed Helinda by the Mauritian TCWC and weakened. By 29 January Pancho/Helinda was moving from the northwest towards Cocos Islands again, however again it changed direction to the southwest and reintensified to Category 4. It finally weakened to a tropical depression by 5 February.

Tropical Cyclone Gillian

Tropical Cyclone Gillian existed from 10 February to 12 February.

Tropical Cyclone Harold

Tropical Cyclone Harold existed from 16 February to 21 February.

Tropical Cyclone Ita

Tropical Cyclone Ita developed rapidly off the north coast of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

on 23 February 1997. The system moved southernly then southwest. The development inhibited from the northerly upper flow between an upper low over Queensland and an anticyclone in the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

and the lowest central pressure is reached with 994 hPa on 24 February. On the same day it makes landfall on the coast southeast of

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

where it dissipated quickly. Minimal wind damage, moderate flooding in rivers and creeks, and a tornado that occurred in Yukan were reported on 24 February.

Tropical Cyclone Justin

Justin had a long 3 week life in March 1997. Peaking as a Category 3 cyclone, and making landfall as a Category 2, it caused significant damage in the

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

region which it approached on two occasions. It was the largest cyclone to hit Northern Queensland in 1997. Houses were undermined by huge waves, a marina and boats were severely damaged, roads and bridges suffered from flood and landslide damage and huge losses were inflicted on sugar cane, fruit and vegetable crops. The death toll in Queensland was seven including five on a yacht which sank. There were 26 who died in

which was also severely affected. Total estimated costs in Australia were $190 million (1997 values).

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rhonda

Cyclone Rhonda formed from an area of persistent convection near 10°S 80°E. It reached cyclone strength on 11 May 1997. Rhonda intensified into a Category 4 status. The cyclone continued moving south. The upper shear increased, resulting in rapid weakening before dissipating and being absorbed to a cut-off low pressure system near the

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

coast on 17 May. No damages were reported from the cyclone.

Other systems

On 15 October, TCWC Perth reported that a tropical low developed within a near equatorial trough of low pressure, to the southwest of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Over the next few days, the low moved into the South-West Indian Ocean basin while developing further, before being named Antoinette by RSMC La Réunion during 18 October.

Storm names

Tropical cyclones are assigned names by the Australian

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

. Tropical cyclones are named if they are non-frontal low pressure systems of

synoptic scale In meteorology, the synoptic scale (also called the large scale or cyclonic scale) is a horizontal length scale of the order of or more. This corresponds to a horizontal scale typical of mid-latitude depressions (e.g. extratropical cyclones). ...

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 The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology an ...

's official lists. Each Australian Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (

, Darwin, and

) 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 The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

, 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 The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. This area includes most of the cyclones that form in the

Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea is ...

and Western

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

. Tropical cyclones in the

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,

. Perth Lindsay - Melanie - Nicholas - Ophelia - Pancho - Rhonda Darwin Phil - Rachel Brisbane Fergus - Gillian - Harold - Ita - Justin The Bureau of Meteorology retired the names ''Fergus'', ''Justin'', ''Rachel'' and ''Rhonda'', replacing them with ''Fletcher'', ''Jack'', ''Raquel'' and ''Rosie'' respectively. ''Rosie'' was used in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, ''Fletcher'' and ''Jack'' in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and ''Raquel'' in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Seasonal effects

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Bellamine , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , , , , , , - , Nicholas , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Western Australia , , , , , , , - , Ophelia , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , , , , , , - , Fergus , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
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New Caledonia, New Zealand , , , , , , , - , 18S , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , , , , , , - , Pancho , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , , , , - , Gillian , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Papua New Guinea, Queensland , , , , , , , - , Harold , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , New Caledonia , , , , , , , - , Unnamed , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Western Australia , , , , , , , - , Unnamed , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Western Australia , , , , , , , - , Ita , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Queensland , , , , , , , - , Unnamed , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Northern Territory, Western Australia , , , , , , , - ,

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

, , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
Queensland , , , , , , , - , Rhonda , , , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Cocos Island, Western Australia , , , , , , , -

References

External links

World Meteorological Organization

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (TCWC's Perth, Darwin & Brisbane)

Joint Typhoon Warning Center
. {{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Australian region cyclone season Australian region cyclone seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines