Cyclone Nathan was a powerful tropical cyclone that had an erratic track. The cyclone formed from a tropical low near the

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 ...

coast that itself formed as a result of

Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second List of the most intense tropical cyclones, most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of ...

's outer rainbands. Later that day, the BoM designated the system as 17U and intensified into Tropical Cyclone Nathan several hours later. It slowly executed a cyclonic loop over the next few days, moving 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 ...

. After intensifying to an initial peak intensity of , Nathan weakened while crossing 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 reintensified over 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 ...

. It impacted

as an equivalent of a Category 1 cyclone, before hitting Darwin, Northern Territory, Northern Territory the same day. It dissipated afterwards. The remnants of Nathan brought of rainfall to

Onslow, Western Australia Onslow is a coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, north of Perth. It had a population of 829 people as at 2021 and is located within the Shire of Ashburton local government area. The town is served by Onslow Airport, and i ...

on 30 March. Cyclone Nathan hit the

one month after Cyclone Lam. Cyclone Nathan caused heavy flooding in

and in 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 ...

, though no deaths were reported. The cyclone's erratic path was a shock to many local residents. Total damage in northern Queensland were about A$74.8 million (US$57 million).

Meteorological history

On March 9, 2015, the outer rainbands of

, which had recently made landfall in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, generated a low-pressure area around 100 miles from the closest coastline of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The low-pressure area entered an area of warm waters and low wind shear, allowing the gradual increase in convection for the developing storm. As a result, the low-pressure area gradually intensified into a tropical storm, and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) named it "Nathan. Nathan rapidly intensified to a category-2 cyclone within the same day, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. However, the period of intensification stopped as the cyclone experienced above-average wind shear and slightly colder waters. Despite this, Nathan still retained its category-2 intensity for nearly three more days as it took a winding path that curved two times. By the time the process finished, the cyclone was headed directly for the

. During the curves, the cyclone periodically weakened below category-2 intensity into tropical storm intensity. However, it would always re-intensify back to category-2 strength. Near the end of its winding path, Nathan intensified into a final category-3 status, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. It made landfall in a sparsely populated area north of

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

on March 20 as a major cyclone with winds exceeding 185 km/h (115 mph), and gusts reaching nearly 210 km/h (130 mph). As it passed over

, Nathan briefly weakened to tropical depression status. However, as a result of the

brown ocean effect The brown ocean effect is an observed weather phenomenon involving some tropical cyclones after landfall. Normally, hurricanes and tropical storms lose strength when they make landfall, but when the brown ocean effect is in play, tropical cyclone ...

, it regained tropical storm status while being inland, and continued moving westwards. By March 22, as a result of the warm waters of the

, Nathan re-intensified into a hurricane and made landfall north of the small, remote

n town of Nhulunbuy within the Northern Territory as a minimal hurricane. As it traveled over land, it quickly lost convection, and turned into a remnant low. The remnant low of Nathan traveled several more hundreds of miles, before eventually dissipating over the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

, west of Darwin, Northern Territory.

Preparations

Being the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in

on the year of 2015, Cyclone Nathan caused the residents of

and

Hope Vale Hope Vale (also known as Hopevale) is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. ...

to seek shelter in bunkers due to warnings that Nathan could bring winds stronger than

Cyclone Ita Severe Tropical Cyclone Ita was the strongest tropical cyclone in the Australian region by central pressure since George in 2007, and by wind speed since Monica in 2006. The system was first identified over the Solomon Islands as a tropical l ...

, which had made landfall in

in 2014 and caused widespread damage. Warnings were activated from Coen to Cairns, extending to several inland areas that include Laura and Palmerville. The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) deployed at least 51 Urban Search and Rescue technicians from several stations within Queensland to Cape York Peninsula due to the possibility of stranded people needing rescues in the aftermath of the cyclone. Acting Chief Superintendent Brett Schafferius said, "Clearly all the key government agencies will be looking at what staff they have on the ground here and available and if need be, additional resources will be brought in. I can assure people up here that as every year we get an impact of cyclone in some measure, we're well and truly prepared for whatever Nathan will bring us". Heavy rain, flash floods, and high tide warnings were in place for nearly the entire region of Cape York Peninsula and for East Arnhem.

Impact and aftermath

The cyclone and its remnant tropical depression brought heavy rainfall and flash-flooding to many parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory. The highest 24-hour rainfall totals included: *208 mm at Alcan Mine *261 mm at Fanny Creek *215 mm at Dorisvale *208 mm at Snowdrop Creek Flash floods caused severe damage in inland Arnhem Land, including the destruction of several homes and businesses. In Nhulunbuy, flooding reached knee-deep and disrupted transportation and communication. Cyclone Nathan caused powerful wind-gusts throughout much of Lizard Island, causing heavy damage to the poor infrastructure of the rural island. Roof shingles were blown away, trees were uprooted, and power poles snapped near the landfall site in Yirrkala. Road closures and flight and ferry cancellations were widespread, causing severe transportation disruption. As runways and roads were washed out, emergency aid was blocked from entering the affected region in any proper manner. Flooding in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...

forced aid-carrying flights to instead land way west in

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 ...

, delaying aid by nearly an entire day, as washed roads caused helicopters to take the role as trucks would have. Total damage in northern Queensland were about A$74.8 million (US$57 million).

References

External links

*The BoM'
Tropical Cyclone Report
on Severe Tropical Cyclone Nathan {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan (2015) 2014–15 Australian region cyclone season Tropical cyclones in 2015 Tropical cyclones in the Northern Territory Tropical cyclones in Queensland

Meteorological history

Preparations

Impact and aftermath

See also

References

External links