Cyclone Steve

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

This page or section may not use Simple English
Someone thinks that this page or section does not use Simple English.

This does not mean it is bad. It may only be difficult for some users to understand. Editors can help Wikipedia by making the page or section simpler. For tips on making it better, read "How to write Simple English articles".

Cyclone Steve making its first landfall
Enlarge
Cyclone Steve making its first landfall

Tropical Cyclone Steve was a tropical cyclone that affected northern Australia from February 27, 2000 until March 11, 2000. Cyclone Steve was a Category 2 storm on the Australian tropical cyclone scale. Cyclone Steve was noted for existing for a long time and travelling a long way around northern and western Australia. It affected the states of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia before moving to the south of the continent. Steve is the first known Australian cyclone to cross the coast in four separate areas in the country.[1]

Contents

[edit] Storm history

Storm track of Cyclone Steve
Enlarge
Storm track of Cyclone Steve

A tropical low formed in the Coral Sea to the east of Willis Island on February 25, 2000. It rapidly became stronger and was named Tropical Cyclone Steve at around 7 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the February 27, 2000. The cyclone crossed the Queensland coast as a Category 2 system on February 27 to the north of Cairns at around 7 pm EST. Steve became weak over land and was put down to a tropical low on February 28.

The low moved westward and rose to tropical cyclone strength over the Gulf of Carpentaria on the same day at around 10 pm EST. The cyclone passed over Mornington Island in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria and crossed the Northern Territory coast north of Port McArthur on March 1 as a Category 1. The cyclone was put lower again to a tropical low, but managed to hang on 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 became once again into a tropical cyclone just west of Broome on March 5 at 1 pm Western Standard Time (WST).

Cyclone Steve at its third landfall
Enlarge
Cyclone Steve at its third landfall

Cyclone Steve moved to the west southwest near the Pilbara coast and rose in strength during the day and was raised to a Category 2 system early on March 6. The cyclone had an atmospheric pressure of 975 hPa on that day. Cyclone Steve still moved to the southwest, as it passed north of Port Hedland and Karratha on March 6, before crossing the Pilbara coast near Mardie at around midnight on March 6. This was the third time Steve crossed the coast. The system was again lowered to a Category 1 as it moved further over land.

At around midnight on March 7, Steve again moved over sea about 175 km (109 mi) north of Carnarvon and moved southwards along the coast. However, the system did not grow in strength and made its fourth and last landfall at around midnight on March 9 east of Denham. Steve then continued to move to the southeast and gained in speed across southern parts of Western Australia during the 10th and 11th of March and becoming extratropical, before moving off the coast for the final time to the east of Esperance late on March 11 and over the waters of the Great Australian Bight. [2] [3]

[edit] Impact

[edit] Queensland

Cyclone Steve caused major flooding between Cairns and Mareeba. A record flood level of 12.4 m (41 ft) was reached at Mareeba on February 28, 2000. Many buildings in Cairns had serious water damage including the Cairns Hospital. Cairns recorded its wettest February on record, with the suburb of Manunda recording 1462.7 mm (58 in), and Bartlefrere recording 3376 mm (133 in). [1] Wind gusts up to 140 km/h (87mph) caused many buildings in Cairns and Kuranda to lose their roofs. Hundreds of trees were blown away and powerlines were brought down in all of the district, which stopped supplies from arriving to more than 40,000 residents. In Cairns, a very big fig tree was wiped out with the entire root system out of the ground. Crops were badly damaged by floods and winds, with the sugar cane damage alone estimated at $20 million (AUD). The total damage bill in north Queensland as a result with Cyclone Steve was estimated at over $100 million (AUD). [4]

[edit] Northern Territory

Very strong winds and heavy rainfall was recorded across the Top End. Several trees were blown out of their roots in Oenpelli which reported winds gusts of over 90 km/h (56 mph). Gusts near 90 km/h (56mph) in Darwin overnight on the 2nd of March brought down trees. There was flooding in the Katherine, Daly and Victoria River regions. Water levels in the Katherine River came to within about 3 metres (10 ft) of those experienced in the floods of 1998, but fortunately eased off without flooding the town. [1] Rainfall across the Top End, Victoria River region over a four day period between 29th February to 4th March was between 200 and 400 millimetres (8 to 16 inches). Totals were much the same recorded over four days in the Kimberley region. Numerous Northern Territory roads and highways were cut with many communities separated from others. [4]

[edit] Western Australia

Near gale force winds were experienced at Port Hedland for a period of about 17 hours beginning at midnight WST on March 5. The maximum gust recorded was 104 km/h (65 mph) (between 8 and 9 am WST March 6). Winds on average were near 70 km/h (43 mph) at Karratha on the early evening of 6 March and the maximum gust recorded was 98 km/h (61 mph) at 6 pm WST. [3]

The very heavy rainfall from Steve produced large flooding in northern parts of the state, including the Gascoyne region. Communities in the Kimberley region which remained separated from others for more than two weeks required food and supply air-drops. Low-lying areas of Carnarvon were flooded when the Gascoyne River burst its banks. The Gascoyne River at Carnarvon reached its highest level since 1960.

Parts of the western Pilbara and northern Gascoyne had 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 (152.0 mm on 10th). Carnarvon (100.6 mm on 9th) reported its highest March daily rainfall since records started 45 years ago. Rainfall ranging from 50 to 100 mm were experienced over inland parts, extending in a south-easterly direction from the west Gascoyne to the south coast near Esperance. Flooding was experienced in the Esperance area and number of roads and bridges were washed away. Salmon Gums Research Station recorded 91 mm of rain on the 11th of March. [2]

[edit] Retirement

The name Steve was removed from the official list of tropical cyclone names that were produced by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Brisbane.[5] It was replaced with the name Stan.[6]

[edit] See also

  • List of notable tropical cyclones

[edit] References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gary Padgett. MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY. Retrieved on June 28, 2006.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Bureau of Meteorology. BoM - WA Tropical Cyclone Season Summary 1999-00. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved on June 16, 2006.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Bureau of Meteorology. Bureau - Tropical Cyclone Steve. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved on June 16, 2006.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Bureau of Meteorology. BoM-Impact from Steve. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved on June 16, 2006.
  5. Hurricane Alley (2005). Retired Tropical Cyclone Names. Hurricane Alley Inc. Retrieved on August 26, 2006.
  6. Bureau of Meteorology (2005). TROPICAL CYCLONE NAMES. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved on June 16, 2006.

[edit] External links

In other languages