1995–96 Australian Region Cyclone Season
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The 1995–96 Australian region cyclone season was an active Australian
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 ...
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
, with
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 ...
experiencing a record number of landfalling intense storms in the
Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
region. The season produced a total of 19 tropical cyclones, of which 14 developed into named storms and 9 reached severe tropical cyclone status. The strongest of the season was Severe Tropical Cyclone Olivia, which also produced the highest recorded wind gust on record of 408 km/h (253 mph). Though several systems impacted land, the general sparsity of population centres in Australia limits the scale of damage. One person was confirmed to have been killed and cumulative losses were estimated at A$77 million (US$58.5 million).


Systems

ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/11/1995 till:01/06/1996 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/11/1995 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:16/11/1995 till:19/11/1995 color:C3 text:"Daryl (C3)" from:02/12/1995 till:16/12/1995 color:C1 text:"Emma (C1)" from:06/12/1995 till:13/12/1995 color:C4 text:"Frank (C4)" from:17/12/1995 till:24/12/1995 color:C3 text:"Gertie (C3)" from:04/01/1996 till:07/01/1996 color:C4 text:"Barry (C4)" from:07/01/1996 till:09/01/1996 color:C3 text:"Hubert (C3)" from:26/01/1996 till:29/01/1996 color:C3 text:"Celeste (C3)" barset:break from:27/01/1996 till:01/02/1996 color:C1 text:"Isobel (C1)" from:27/01/1996 till:08/02/1996 color:C3 text:"Jacob (C3)" from:05/02/1996 till:10/02/1996 color:C1 text:"12S (C1)" from:08/02/1996 till:11/02/1996 color:TL text:"TL" from:14/02/1996 till:17/02/1996 color:TL text:"TL" from:15/02/1996 till:18/02/1996 color:C1 text:"Dennis (C1)" from:07/03/1996 till:14/03/1996 color:C4 text:"Kristy (C4)" barset:break from:08/03/1996 till:13/03/1996 color:C1 text:"Ethel (C1)" from:06/04/1996 till:12/04/1996 color:C4 text:" Olivia (C4)" from:12/04/1996 till:19/04/1996 color:TL text:"TL" from:30/04/1996 till:06/05/1996 color:C2 text:"Jenna (C2)" from:30/04/1996 till:05/05/1996 color:TL text:"TL" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/11/1995 till:01/12/1995 text:November from:01/12/1995 till:01/01/1996 text:December from:01/01/1996 till:01/02/1996 text:January from:01/02/1996 till:01/03/1996 text:February from:01/03/1996 till:01/04/1996 text:March from:01/04/1996 till:01/05/1996 text:April from:01/05/1996 till:01/06/1996 text:May 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 ...
)"


Severe Tropical Cyclone Daryl–Agnielle

The first storm of the year and most intense across the Southern Hemisphere during the 1995–96 seasons, Cyclone Daryl was first identified several hundred kilometres west of
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
on 16 November. Initially tracking south-eastward, the system gradually attained gale-force winds as it neared the
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 ...
late on 17 November. Squally conditions and heavy rain impacted the islands but no damage took place. Low
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 ...
allowed for further strengthening; a mid-level
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
south of the system forced Daryl to turn towards the west. Early on 19 November, the storm intensified into a severe tropical cyclone and attained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) before crossing 90°E and entering the Mauritius area of responsibility. Upon crossing this border, Daryl was assigned a second name, Agnielle, by Mauritius. Over the following days, the system further deepened, peaking in strength as a Category 3 on the Australian intensity scale with 205 km/h (125 mph) and a
barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013.2 ...
of 915 hPa (mbar; 27.02 inHg). Steady weakening took place due to markedly stronger wind shear. Cyclone Daryl-Agnielle was last noted as a weak low pressure center on 25 November over the open waters of the southern Indian Ocean.


Tropical Cyclone Emma

Emma stayed well off the Australian coast in the Indian Ocean. It spent most of its duration as a tropical low.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Frank

It formed on 6 December 1995, and was the first cyclone to form in northwest coast of Australia during the 95/96 season. Cyclone Frank brought heavy winds and rains to the Pilbara coast. Frank was one of four cyclones to strike in that area.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Gertie

A tropical low formed in the Timor Sea on 16 December and tracked west-southwest as it deepened slowly. The low crossed into the WA region on 17 December and was named Gertie on the afternoon of the 18th. The cyclone then moved towards the south-southwest during the 19th but slowed to be almost stationary during the late afternoon and evening of that day. Gertie then began to move south, then southeastwards, crossing the coast near Mandora Station on 20 December. Gertie then passed to the northeast of Telfer producing near gale-force winds and heavy rain before dissipating on the 21st. The storm did only minor damage.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Barry

Barry formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria on 4 January, reaching a maximum intensity of Category 3 (Australian scale) before crossing the coast between Karumba and Kowanyama two days later. Heavy rains caused severe flooding across the southern Cape York Peninsula, however there were no deaths reported.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Hubert–Coryna

Hubert stayed well off the Australian coast in the Indian Ocean from 8 to 12 January 1996.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Celeste

Celeste formed in the Coral Sea on 26 January 1996, and rapidly intensified into a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone (Australian scale), in part due to its position between equatorial and subtropical upper wind outflow channels. While intensifying it approached the northeastern Australian coast, with its centre coming within to the north of
Bowen, Queensland Bowen is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Bowen had a population of 11,205 people. The locality contains two other towns: * Heronvale, Quee ...
on 27 January. After dumping heavy rain on the region, Celeste moved back out to sea. As it did, the cyclone passed to the north of the
Whitsunday Islands The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands ar ...
while reaching peak intensity. Subsequently it quickly weakened.


Tropical Cyclone Isobel

Isobel only lasted from 27 January 1996 to 1 February in the Timor Sea and did not pass close to any land.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Jacob

TC Jacob formed on 1 February 1996 from a monsoonal low that moved across the
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 ...
and the Kimberley region of Western Australia before tracking over the Bonaparte Gulf. It closely followed the Western Australian coast and developed cyclone characteristics near Adele Island. Jacob continued to intensify and moved west-southwestwards, roughly parallel to the Pilbara coast. At peak intensity Jacob was a Category 3 storm with wind gusts near the centre estimated to be 200 kilometres per hour. The Kimberley and Pilbara coastal areas received heavy rains as the cyclone passed offshore. Only minor damage occurred and there were no deaths.


Tropical Storm 12S

A weak storm formed near the edge of the Bureau's area of responsibility in early February. Only the JTWC classified it as a tropical cyclone, reporting peak winds of 65 km/h (40 mph).


Tropical Low

A tropical low existed from 8 to 11 February.


Tropical Low

A tropical low existed from 14 to 17 February.


Tropical Cyclone Dennis

Tropical Cyclone Dennis existed from 15 to 18 February.


Severe Tropical Cyclone Kirsty

A strong
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 ...
, Kirsty crossed the coast at Pardoo Station near
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 12 March 1996. The cyclone did considerable damage to tourist cabins and other structures.


Tropical Cyclone Ethel

Twice transited Cape York Peninsula before making a final landfall along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, in the Northern Territory. Severe flooding triggered by Cyclone Ethel resulted in A$75 million (US$57 million).


Severe Tropical Cyclone Olivia

Lasting from 5 April 1996 to 12 April, Olivia reached Category 4 and destroyed 55 houses (plus 27 damaged) at the mining town of Pannawonica. Several buildings also suffered roof damage at neighbouring Mount Tom Price. There were only 10 minor injuries. A gust of 267 km/h was recorded at Varanus Island which is the equal highest recorded wind gust in Australia. More recently, a review conducted by WMO confirmed a reported gust of 408 km/h on Barrow Island on 10 April 1996, at the peak of the storm, making it the highest gust ever recorded on earth during a non-tornadic storm.


Tropical Depression 27S

Tropical Depression 27S existed from 12 to 19 April.


Tropical Cyclone Jenna

Tropical Cyclone Jenna existed from 30 April to 6 May.


Tropical Low

A tropical low existed in the vicinity of Brisbane from 30 April to 5 May.


Seasonal effects

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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 ...
or
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 ...
. 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 (
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 ...
) maintained 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
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 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 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 ...
. Storms that enter the region that were named by the Mauritius meteorological service or the
Fiji Meteorological Service The Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) is a Department of the government of Fiji responsible for providing weather forecasts and is based on the grounds of Nadi Airport in Nadi. The current director of Fiji Meteorological Service is Misaeli Funak ...
retain their original names. However, those that move from the Australian region into the South-West Indian Ocean (west of 90°E) are renamed by Météo-France. Additionally, the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in
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 ...
reserves the right to name cyclones that develop in the
Solomon Sea The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of ...
and
Gulf of Papua The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of . Geography Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...
, north of 10°S between 141°E and 160°E. Names issued by Port Moresby are retired after one use. Perth * Daryl - Emma - Frank - Gertie - Hubert - Isobel - Jacob - Kirsty Darwin * Olivia Brisbane * Barry - Celeste - Dennis - Ethel Additionally, one storm, Jenna, was named by the Mauritius Meteorological Service.


Retirement

At the end of the season, the Bureau of Meteorology
retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
seven of the thirteen names used during the season. The names were Frank, Gertie, Kirsty, Barry, Celeste, Ethel and Olivia. The replacement names were ''Floyd'', '' Glenda'', ''Kara'', '' Bruce'', ''Cecily'', ''Edna'' and '' Olwyn''. Floyd and Glenda were used in
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, Kara in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, Bruce and Edna in the 2013–14 season and Olwyn 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 ...
. Cecily was not retained after the naming lists were combined prior to the 2008-09 cyclone season.


See also

* List of Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons * Atlantic hurricane seasons:
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
* Pacific hurricane seasons:
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
* Pacific typhoon seasons:
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
* North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons:
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 Australian region cyclone season Australian region cyclone seasons