Tropical Cyclone Grant was a

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 ...

that affected Queensland and the Northern Territory in late December 2011 and early January 2012.

Meteorological history

On 21 December, the United States

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

and the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in

Darwin, Australia Darwin (Laragiya language, Larrakia: ') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 Australian census, ...

, began monitoring an area of low pressure that had developed about to the northeast of Darwin. Tropical Low 04U developed into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the morning of 25 December and moved slowly towards the

Cobourg Peninsula The Cobourg Peninsula is a peninsula located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 ...

. It caused torrential rainfall over parts of the Cobourg Peninsula and the adjacent north coast of the Arnhem District. The system reached Category 2 strength in the afternoon of 25 December. In the evening of 28 December the system, downgraded to a tropical low, moved back onto the waters of the

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 ...

. The system continued to move eastward across the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

and into 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 ...

, even as the storm weakened, until Grant underwent an extratropical transition on 2 January 2012. Later on the same day, the extratropical remnant of Grant dissipated.

Preparations and impact

Northern Territory

A gale warning was issued for Darwin and the Tiwi Islands on 24 December. The system intensified on 25 December, reaching Category 2 status in the afternoon, and a cyclone watch was declared between Dundee Beach and

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...

, with a cyclone warning issued for areas between

Cape Fourcroy Cape Fourcroy is located at the western tip of Bathurst Island. Cyclone Tracy passed through here in December 1974. It is the location of Cape Fourcroy Light, an active lighthouse. It is believed that the cape was named after Antoine François, ...

and

Milingimbi Milingimbi Island, also Yurruwi, is the largest island of the Crocodile Islands group off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. Location Milingimbi lies approximately east of Darwin and west of Nhulunbuy. History Aborig ...

including the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island, Bathurst I ...

. The system crossed

Van Diemen Gulf Van Diemen Gulf is a gulf in the Northern Territory of Australia. It connects to the Timor Sea in the north via Dundas Strait. Most of its area is also gazetted as a locality with the name Van Diemen Gulf. History The gulf was named after th ...

and made a second landfall east of Point Stuart in the early morning of 26 December. Shortly thereafter the cyclone was downgraded to Category 1, and by that afternoon it was downgraded to a tropical low as it passed

Jabiru The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has also been reported in Mississippi, Oklahoma ...

Kakadu National Park Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded l ...

. Jabiru Airport had received of rain by 9:00am on 26 December. On 27 December the system was moving slowly south-east across

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

, causing heavy rainfall. Ediths Fall Ridge recorded of rainfall, which produced damaging flooding. A cyclone watch was issued on 27 December from Nhulunbuy to Numbalwar, including

Groote Eylandt Groote Eylandt ( Anindilyakwa: ''Ayangkidarrba''; meaning "island" ) is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the fourth largest island in Australia. It was named by the explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 and is Dutch for "large island" ...

. Flooding associated with the system in the

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

area cut off the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...

, washed cars off bridges and derailed a train. The Adelaide–Darwin railway was severely damaged by the derailment of the

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom; and formerly in Australia. ...

freight train.

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' () is an experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor ...

was forced to stop with 200 passengers in Katherine. One week after the cyclone had passed freight companies were poised to raise transportation costs as shipping to Darwin would need to be done by road. The railway between Katherine and Darwin would be out of service until the end of January 2012. On 28 December the system moved eastward, bringing with it heavy rainfall to the Roper-

McArthur River The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the a ...

districts.

Queensland

A cyclone watch was issued for

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 ...

for coastal areas from

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...

to Gilbert River Mouth but was later cancelled when the system did not re-intensify to Category 1 strength. Late on 29 December the system as a tropical monsoon low was northwest of

Pormpuraaw Pormpuraaw (pronounced ''porm-pure-ow'') is a coastal town and a locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Pormpuraaw, Queensland, Australia. Pormpuraaw is an Aboriginal community situated on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula approximately halfwa ...

on the Cape York Peninsula before making landfall in the early morning of 30 December south of Wiepa near the aboriginal community of

Aurukun Aurukun is a town and coastal locality in the Shire of Aurukun and the Shire of Cook in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is an Indigenous community. In the , the locality of Aurukun had a population of 1,101 people, of whom 997 (88.7%) iden ...

. A severe weather warning was issued for the Peninsula, North Tropical Coast and Gulf Country districts. Later on 30 December the monsoon low passed Coen and out into the waters of the

References

External links

Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC)
.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology (TCWC's Perth, Darwin & Brisbane)
.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant (2011) 2011–12 Australian region cyclone season Category 2 Australian region cyclones Grant Grant