Tag Archives: Port Douglas

Tropical Cyclone Narelle Strengthens to Equivalent of Hurricane/Typhoon

Tropical Cyclone Narelle strengthened to the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon as it moved over the Coral Sea on Tuesday evening.  At 8:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday the center of Tropical Cyclone Narelle was located at latitude 12.4°S and longitude 153.3°E which put the center about 600 miles (970 km) east-northeast of Cairns, Australia.  Narelle was moving toward the west at 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 986 mb.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a Watch that was in effect for the portion of the coast of Queensland from Lockhart River to Port Douglas.  The Watch extended across the central Cape York Peninsula to the Gulf of Carpentaria.  The Watch was in effect for the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula from Weipa to Kowanyama.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle intensified to the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon on Tuesday evening.  The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the center of Narelle’s circulation.  A small eye formed at the center of Tropical Cyclone Narelle.  The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Narelle’s circulation.  Storms near the center of Narelle generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the tropical cyclone.  The removal of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Narelle was small.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 115 miles (185 km) from the center of Narelle’s circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle will move through an environment that will be favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Narelle will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C.  It will move under the middle of an upper level ridge that is over the northern part of the Coral Sea.  The upper level winds are weak near the middle of the ridge and there will be little vertical wind shear.  Tropical Cyclone Narelle will intensify during the next 24 hours.  Narelle could intensify rapidly at times.  Tropical Cyclone Narelle could strengthen to the equivalent of a major hurricane by Thursday.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle will move around the northern side of a high pressure system that is over the Coral Sea.   The high pressure system will steer Narelle toward the west during the next 24 hours.   On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Narelle will approach the coast of Queensland near Cape Melville in 35 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle will bring strong winds and heavy rain to the northern part of the Cape York Peninsula later this week.  Heavy rain is likely to cause flash floods in some locations.

Flood Watches are in effect for parts of the Cape York Peninsula and the North Tropical Coast of Queensland.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle Develops Over the Coral Sea

Tropical Cyclone Narelle developed over the Coral Sea on Monday night.  At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday the center of Tropical Cyclone Narelle was located at latitude 12.4°S and longitude 154.8°E which put the center about 705 miles (1140 km) east-northeast of Cairns, Australia.  Narelle was moving toward the west at 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 70 m.p.h. (110 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 85 m.p.h. (135 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 987 mb.

A low pressure system over the Coral Sea strengthened on Monday night and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Narelle.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a Watch for the coast of Queensland from Lockhart River to Port Douglas.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle was intensifying rapidly on Tuesday morning.  The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the center of Narelle’s circulation.  A small eye appeared to be forming at the center of Tropical Cyclone Narelle.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Narelle’s circulation.  Storms near the center of Narelle generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the tropical cyclone.  The removal of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Narelle was small.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 115 miles (185 km) from the center of Narelle’s circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle will move through an environment that will be favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Narelle will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C.  It will move under the middle of an upper level ridge that is over the northern part of the Coral Sea.  The upper level winds are weak near the middle of the ridge and there will be little vertical wind shear.  Tropical Cyclone Narelle will intensify during the next 24 hours.  Narelle could intensify rapidly.  Tropical Cyclone Narelle will strengthen to the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon during the next few hours.  Narelle could intensify to the equivalent of a major hurricane by Thursday.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle will move around the northern side of a high pressure system that is over the Coral Sea.  The high pressure system will steer Narelle toward the west during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Narelle will approach the coast of Queensland near Cape Melville in 48 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle will bring strong winds and heavy rain to the northern part of the Cape York Peninsula later this week.  Heavy rain is likely to cause flash floods in some locations.

Flood Watches are in effect for parts of the Cape York Peninsula and the North Tropical Coast of Queensland.

Tropical Cyclone 24P Forms over the Coral Sea

Tropical Cyclone 24P formed over the Coral Sea on Tuesday night.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday the center of Tropical Cyclone 24P was located at latitude 14.3°S and longitude 150.6°E which put the center about 380 miles (615 km) east-northeast of Cairns, Australia.  Tropical Cyclone 24P was moving toward the south-southeast at 3 m.p.h. (5 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 996 mb.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a Watch for the portion of the coast from Cooktown to Lucinda.  The Watch included Port Douglas, Cairns, Innisfail and Palm Island.

A low pressure system over the Coral Sea strengthened on Tuesday night and the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center designated the system as Tropical Cyclone 24P.  The Australian Bureau of Meteorology was designating the system as Tropical Low 29U.

The distribution of thunderstorms in Tropical Cyclone 24P was asymmetrical.  Thunderstorms were occurring in bands in the western half of the tropical cyclone’s circulation.  Bands in the eastern side of the circulation consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Storms near the center of Tropical Cyclone 24P began to generate upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the tropical cyclone.

Winds to tropical storm force extended out 100 miles (160 km) from the center of Tropical Cyclone 24P.

Tropical Cyclone 24P will move through an environment that will be somewhat favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  The tropical cyclone will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C.  It will move under the northern part of an upper level ridge that extended from the Coral Sea to over Australia.  The upper level ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of the tropical cyclone’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear.  The vertical wind shear will inhibit intensification, but the shear will not be enough to prevent intensification.  Tropical Cyclone 24P will intensify during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone 24 P will move around the northwestern part of a high pressure system that is over the Coral Sea.  The high pressure system will steer the tropical cyclone during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone 24P will approach the coast of Queensland near Cairns in two days.

Tropical Cyclone 24P will bring strong winds and locally heavy rain to the coast of Queensland near Cairns.  Heavy rain could cause flooding in some locations.

Flood Watches are in effect for the parts of the Cape York Peninsula, the Central Coast, Capricornia, and Carpentaria catchments.

Tropical Low Prompts Warning for Queensland

A Tropical Low over the Coral Sea prompted the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to issue a Warning for the coast of Queensland on Thursday night.  At 7:00 a.m. EST on Friday the center of the Tropical Low was located at latitude 14.9°S and longitude 148.1°E which put the center about 210 miles (335 km) northeast of the Cairns, Australia.  The Tropical Low was moving toward the south-southwest at 4 m.p.h. (6 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 995 mb.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a Warning for the portion of the coast of Queensland from Port Douglas to Airlie Beach.  The Warning includes Cairns, Innisfail, Townsville and Bowen.

A low pressure system over the Coral Sea was strengthening on Friday morning.  The Australian Bureau of Meteorology was classifying the system as a Tropical Low.  The U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center was designating the system as Invest 92P.

A Tropical Low over the Coral Sea was strengthening on Friday morning.  Thunderstorms were occurring in bands in the northwestern part of the Tropical Low.  Another cluster of thunderstorms was located southeast of the center of circulation.  Storms near the center began to generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the Tropical Low.  The removal of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease.

The strongest winds were occurring in the thunderstorms northwest and southeast of the center of the Tropical Low.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 140 miles (225 km) from the center of circulation.

The Tropical Low will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  The Tropical Low will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C.  It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear.  The Tropical Low is very likely to intensify to a named tropical cyclone during the next 24 hours.

The Tropical Low will move around the western side of a high pressure system that is east of Australia.  The high pressure system will steer the Tropical Low toward the south-southwest during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, the Tropical Low will approach the coast of Queensland near Townsville in 24 hours.

The Tropical Low is likely to be the equivalent of a tropical storm when it approaches the coast.  It will bring strong winds and locally heavy rain to the portion of the coast between Port Douglas and Airlie Beach.  Heavy rain could cause flash floods in some locations.

Tropical Cyclone Kimi Forms Near Queensland

Tropical Storm Kimi formed near the coast of Queensland on Saturday night. At 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone Kimi was located at latitude 14.9°S and longitude 146.4°E which put it about 145 miles (235 km) north-northeast of Cairns, Australia. Kimi was moving toward the southwest at 6 m.p.h. (9 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 998 mb.

A Warning was issued for the portion of the coast from Cape Melville to Cardwell. The Warning included Cooktown, Port Douglas and Cairns.

The circulation around a small low pressure system near the coast of Queensland strengthened quickly on Saturday night and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Kimi. The circulation around Kimi was small. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 60 miles (95 km) from the center of circulation. Storms near the center generated upper level divergence which pumped mass away from the tropical cyclone. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Kimi.

Tropical Cyclone Kimi will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Kimi will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 28°C. It will move under the axis of an upper level ridge east of Australia. The winds are weak near the axis of the ridge and there will be little vertical wind shear. Tropical Cyclone Kimi is likely to strengthen during the next 24 hours. Kimi could strengthen rapidly because the circulation is small.

Tropical Cyclone Kimi will move around the northwestern part of a high pressure system east of Australia. The high will steer Kimi toward the southwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track Tropical Cyclone Kimi will approach the coast of Queensland between Cooktown and Port Douglas in less than 24 hours. Kimi could be the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon or a strong tropical storm when it approaches the coast.