Tropical Cyclone Steve was a tropical cyclone that affected northern Australia from 27 February 2000 until 11 March 2000. Cyclone Steve was noted for its longevity and traversal of northern and western Australia. It impacted on regions of northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia before clearing to the south of the continent. Steve is the first known Australian cyclone to make four distinct landfalls in the country.

Meteorological history

A tropical low formed in the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

to the east of

Willis Island Willis Island is the only permanently inhabited island in the Coral Sea Islands Territory, an external territory of Australia, located beyond the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea. The island is located some east of Cairns, Queensland. It ...

on 25 February 2000. The system rapidly intensified to become Tropical Cyclone Steve at around 7 am

Australian Eastern Standard Time Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30), and Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00). Time is regulated by the individual state ...

(AEST) ( UTC+10) on 27 February 2000. The cyclone crossed the Queensland coast as a Category 2 system on 27 February to the north of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

at around 7 pm AEST. Steve weakened slowly over land and was downgraded to a tropical low on 28 February. The low tracked westward and re-intensified to tropical cyclone strength over the

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 eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

on the same day at around 10 pm AEST. The cyclone passed over Mornington Island in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria and crossed the Northern Territory coast north of Port McArthur on 1 March as a Category 1. The cyclone weakened back to a tropical low again, but maintained a strong low to middle-level circulation as it crossed the base of the Top End of the Northern Territory. The low moved just south of the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf into the Kimberley region of Western Australia and reformed once again into a tropical cyclone just west of Broome on 5 March at 1 pm Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) ( UTC+8). Cyclone Steve moved in a west southwest direction parallel to the Pilbara coast and strengthened further during the day and was upgraded to a Category 2 system early on 6 March. The cyclone deepened to a pressure of 975 hPa during the day. Continuing on its path to the southwest, Steve passed north of Port Hedland and Karratha on 6 March, before crossing the Pilbara coast near Mardie around midnight on 6 March (Steve's third landfall). The system was again downgraded to Category 1 as it moved inland. At around midnight on 7 March, Steve again moved offshore about north of Carnarvon and moved southwards along the coast. However, the system did not intensify further beyond Category 1 and made its final (fourth) landfall at around midnight on 9 March east of Denham. Steve then continued to track to the south-east and increased in speed across southern parts of Western Australia during the 10 and 11 March and becoming extra-tropical, before moving offshore for the final time to the east of Esperance late on 11 March and over the waters of the Great Australian Bight.

Impact

Queensland

As Steve tracked inland on the north Queensland coast, it caused major flooding between

and Mareeba. A record flood level of was reached at Mareeba on 28 February 2000. Many buildings in Cairns suffered severe water damage including the Cairns Hospital. Cairns recorded its wettest February on record with the suburb of Manunda measuring and Bartle Frere recording . Wind gusts up to caused several buildings in Cairns and Kuranda to lose their roofs. Hundreds of trees were uprooted and powerlines were brought down throughout the district, disrupting supplies to more than 40,000 residents. In Cairns, a giant fig tree was uprooted with the entire root system out of the ground. Crop damage by floods and winds was severe, with the sugar cane damage alone estimated at million. Early estimates indicate that the total damage bill in north Queensland associated with Cyclone Steve may exceed million.

Northern Territory

Severe winds squalls and heavy rainfall was recorded across the Top End. Several trees were uprooted in Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) which reported winds gusts in excess of . Gusts near in Darwin overnight on 2 March brought down trees. Widespread flooding resulted in the Katherine, Daly and Victoria River regions. Water levels in the Katherine River came to within about of those experienced in the 1998 floods but subsided without inundating the town. Rainfall across the Top End, Victoria River region over a four-day period between 29 February to 4 March was between . Similar totals were recorded over four days in the Kimberley region. Numerous Northern Territory roads and highways were cut with many communities isolated.

Western Australia

Near gale-force winds were experienced at Port Hedland for a period of about 17 hours beginning at midnight AWST on 5 March. The peak hourly average wind speed recorded was and the maximum gust recorded was (between 8 and 9 am AWST 6 March). Winds averaged near at Karratha in the early evening 6 March and the maximum gust recorded was at 6 pm AWST. The very heavy rainfall associated with Steve produced widespread flooding in northern parts of the state, including the Gascoyne region. Communities in the Kimberley region which remained isolated for more than two weeks required food and supply air-drops. Low-lying areas of the Carnarvon townsite were flooded when the Gascoyne River breached its banks. The Gascoyne River at Carnarvon reached its highest level since 1960. Parts of the western Pilbara and northern Gascoyne received totals that ranged from 200 to 300 mm. Several sites reported highest on record daily rainfall amounts including Mandora (281.0 mm on 6th) and

Mount Narryer Mount Narryer is a mountain in Western Australia. It is located about north of Yalgoo and north east of Kalbarri in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Situated along the Murchison River, the mountain is surrounded by mulga scrubl ...

(152.0 mm on 10th). Carnarvon (100.6 mm on 9th) reported its highest March daily rainfall since records commenced at the airport in 1945. Rainfall ranging from 50 to 100 mm continued over inland parts extending in a south-easterly direction from the west Gascoyne to the south coast near Esperance. Flooding occurred in the Esperance area and number of roads and bridges were washed away. Salmon Gums Research Station recorded 91 mm of rain on 11 March.

Retirement

The name Steve was removed from the official list of tropical cyclone names set out by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Brisbane. It was replaced with the name Stan.

References

External links

Bureau of Meteorology Report on Cyclone Steve

Track of Cyclone Steve from Unisys
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steve (2000) 1999–2000 Australian region cyclone season Cyclone Steve Retired Australian region cyclones Category 2 Australian region cyclones 2000s in Western Australia

Steve ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

Tropical cyclones in Western Australia Tropical cyclones in Queensland Tropical cyclones in the Northern Territory