[Index]
Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2003
[Summaries and Track Data] [Prepared by Gary Padgett]
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Cyclones
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Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2003 [Summaries and Track Data] [Prepared by Gary Padgett] |
MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY
MARCH, 2003
(For general comments about the nature of these summaries, as well as
information on how to download the tabular cyclone track files, see
the Author's Note at the end of this summary.)
*************************************************************************
MARCH HIGHLIGHTS
--> Another intense cyclone forms in Southwest Indian Ocean
--> Unusual tropical cyclone moves eastward across northern Australia
--> Twin South Pacific hurricanes--one strikes New Caledonia
*************************************************************************
***** Feature of the Month for March *****
UPDATED TABLES OF ATLANTIC NET TROPICAL ACTIVITY
For the past two years I have included tables of Atlantic and
Northeastern Pacific monthly net tropical activity (NTC). As part of
the monthly feature for March, I have included tables for the Atlantic
basin--the Northeast Pacific will follow in a later summary. When
breaking up a tropical cyclone season temporally (into months), some
decisions have to be made regarding inter-monthly cyclones. I have
previously explained in detail my reasoning here, and interested
persons can find this in the March, 2002, summary, which can be
obtained from any of the websites listed at the end of this summary.
All tropical cyclonic activity in the Atlantic during 2002 was
fully consummated during the months of July through October. The
first table below lists the monthly statistics for these four months
as well as the seasonal totals. The second table lists the monthly
figures over the period 1950-2002, inclusive.
Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2002
---------------------------------
Month NS H IH NSD HD IHD NTC
JUL 1 0 0 1.75 0.00 0.00 2.30
AUG 3 0 0 5.00 0.00 0.00 6.65
SEP 8 4 1 37.25 8.00 1.75 55.94
OCT 0 0 1 10.50 2.75 1.25 16.85
TOTAL 12 4 2 54.50 10.75 3.00 81.74
Atlantic Basin Monthly NTC Table
Based on Period 1950-2002
--------------------------------
Month NS H IH NSD HD IHD NTC
JAN 0 0 0 4.50 3.50 0.00 0.07
FEB 1 0 0 1.50 0.00 0.00 0.04
MAR 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
APR 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
MAY 5 2 0 18.50 6.25 0.00 0.46
JUN 27 10 2 72.25 13.25 0.75 2.35
JUL 42 17 1 123.00 32.25 0.50 3.62
AUG 141 79 30 618.50 296.50 63.25 24.54
SEP 185 129 66 1171.75 651.50 157.00 47.50
OCT 87 57 18 474.75 232.25 40.25 16.81
NOV 27 20 4 126.75 46.00 6.25 4.26
DEC 3 2 0 12.75 3.75 0.00 0.33
TOTAL 518 316 121 2624.25 1285.25 268.00
AVG 9.77 5.96 2.28 49.51 24.25 5.06
As an extra feature this month, I am including the Glossary of
Abbreviations and Acronyms which I developed several years ago. This
was done for the benefit of those readers who might not be all that
familiar with many of the abbreviations and acronyms which are used
frequently by those in the meteorological community. I have appended
the Glossary to the monthly summaries on several occasions and have
also sent it to persons who requested a copy via e-mail.
GLOSSARY of ABBREVIATIONS and ACRONYMS
AOML/HRD - Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory/
Hurricane Research Division, located on Virginia Key, Miami,
Florida, U.S.A.
AOR - area of responsibility
CDO - central dense overcast
CI - current intensity
CIMSS - Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies
(University of Wisconsin-Madison)
CP - central pressure
CPHC - Central Pacific Hurricane Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
CWBT - Central Weather Bureau of Taiwan
FLW - flight level wind (or winds)
FTP - file transfer protocol
HKO - Hong Kong Observatory
hPa - hectopascal, numerically equivalent to millibar
HPC - Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, Camp Springs,
Maryland
IMD - India Meteorological Department (RSMC New Delhi, India)
JMA - Japanese Meteorological Agency (RSMC Tokyo, Japan)
JTWC - Joint Typhoon Warning Center, formerly on Guam, now at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
km - kilometer, or kilometre
kt - knot = 1 nautical mile per hour
LLCC - low-level circulation center
m - meter, or metre
mb - millibar, numerically equivalent to hectopascal (hPa)
MFR - Meteo France on Reunion Island
mm - millimeter
MSW - maximum sustained wind(s) (either 1-min avg or 10-min avg)
nm - nautical mile = 6076.12 feet or 1852.0 meters
NMCC - National Meteorological Center of China
NPMOC - Naval Pacific Meteorological and Oceanographic Center, Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, U.S.A.
PAGASA - Philippines' Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services
Administration
RSMC - Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
SST - sea surface temperature
STS - severe tropical storm (MSW greater than 47 kts)
STWO - Significant Tropical Weather Outlook - bulletin issued
daily by JTWC giving information about various areas of
disturbed weather and the potential for tropical cyclone
development
TC - tropical cyclone
TCFA - Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert - issued by JTWC when a
tropical cyclone is expected to develop within the next
24 hours
TCWC - Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (generic term)
TD - tropical depression
TPC/NHC - Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center, Miami,
Florida, U.S.A.
TS - tropical storm
WMO - World Meteorological Organization, headquartered at Geneva,
Switzerland
UTC - Universal Time Coordinated, equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time
or Zulu (Z)
*************************************************************************
ACTIVITY BY BASINS
ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST PACIFIC (NEP) - North Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 180
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST PACIFIC (NWP) - North Pacific Ocean West of Longitude 180
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTH INDIAN OCEAN (NIO) - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea
Activity for March: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E
Activity for March: 1 very intense tropical cyclone
Sources of Information
----------------------
The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
Southwest Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are the warnings issued by
the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre on La Reunion Island, part of
Meteo France (MFR), and the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre
for the basin. However, tropical cyclones in this region are named
by the sub-regional warning centres on Mauritius and Madagascar with
longitude 55E being the demarcation line between their respective
areas of warning responsibility. The La Reunion centre only advises
these agencies regarding the intensity of tropical systems. References
to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period unless otherwise
stated.
In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from MFR's coordinates by usually
40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the source of the
1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included in the
tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of
satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in
the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings.
Southwest Indian Ocean Tropical Activity for March
--------------------------------------------------
Only one tropical cyclone formed during March, but it turned out to
be the most intense of the season, barring an exceptional really late-
season intense cyclone. Tropical Cyclone Kalunde formed early in the
month in the eastern portion of the basin, and remained in the central
Indian Ocean for its entire life. After reaching a peak intensity of
115 kts (140 kts per JTWC), Kalunde began slowly weakening but was
still a potent system when it passed very close to Rodrigues Island
on the 12th. The only other tropical system active in the Southwest
Indian Ocean during March was intense Tropical Cyclone Japhet, which was
operating in the Mozambique Channel as the month opened. Japhet made
landfall in Mozambique on 3 March. The complete report on Tropical
Cyclone Japhet can be found in the February summary.
TROPICAL CYCLONE KALUNDE
(MFR-14 / TC-23S)
4 - 16 March
--------------------------------------------
Kalunde: contributed by Tanzania
A. Storm Origins
----------------
An area of convection developed on 3 March several hundred miles to
the east-southeast of Diego Garcia. MFR issued the first bulletin on
Tropical Disturbance 14 at 04/0000 UTC with the center located about
500 nm east-southeast of Diego Garcia. A STWO from JTWC at 0330 UTC
upgraded the development potential to fair. Animated multi-spectral
imagery depicted improving organization of deep convection over a
LLCC while an upper-level analysis indicated weak to moderate vertical
shear and good divergence aloft.
At 1800 UTC MFR upgraded the system to tropical depression status
with 30-kt sustained winds, and at 2130 UTC JTWC issued a TCFA for the
disturbance. The system was then centered approximately 450 nm south-
east of Diego Garcia, and animated infrared imagery and a 04/1307 UTC
SSM/I pass indicated that deep convection over the LLCC had increased in
organization, although the deep convection was located primarily to the
west and southwest of the center.
B. Track and Intensity History
------------------------------
MFR upgraded the depression to tropical storm status at 0600 UTC on
5 March, and the Meteorological Services of Mauritius assigned the name
Kalunde. Tropical Storm Kalunde was then centered approximately 375 nm
southeast of Diego Garcia, moving west-northwestward at 4 kts. JTWC
also issued their first warning on TC-23S at 0600 UTC, estimating the
MSW (1-min avg) at 35 kts. Kalunde steadily intensified over the next
couple of days before undergoing rapid intensification on the 7th.
The JTWC warning at 06/0000 UTC relocated the storm farther to the east
based on a 05/2032 UTC SSM/I pass. It appeared that Kalunde had
described a small clockwise loop during the previous six hours. The
warning noted that while the coverage of deep convection had continued
to increase, the organization of the system had not significantly
improved. At 0600 UTC Kalunde was centered about 330 nm southeast of
Diego Garcia and moving west-southwestward at 7 kts. A 06/0406 UTC
SSM/I pass revealed that the deep convection was confined to the western
semicircle.
MFR upgraded Kalunde to severe tropical storm status with 50-kt winds
at 1200 UTC on 6 March. At 1800 UTC JTWC upped their MSW (1-min avg)
estimate to 50 kts based on CI estimates ranging from 35 to 65 kts. The
storm at that time was centered approximately 300 nm south-southeast of
Diego Garcia. At 0600 UTC on the 7th, both MFR and JTWC upgraded Kalunde
to tropical cyclone (hurricane) intensity. Current intensity estimates
at the time noted in the JTWC warning ranged from 65 to 90 kts, and a
07/0243 UTC SSM/I pass had depicted a 29-nm diameter eye. Kalunde
continued to intensify rapidly and by 1800 UTC had become an intense
cyclone with MFR and JTWC estimating the intensity at 95 and 115 kts,
respectively. The cyclone was then located approximately 375 nm south-
southwest of Diego Garcia and was continuing its trek toward the south-
west, steered by a mid-level subtropical ridge to the southeast.
The rapid intensification trend continued until early on 8 March--at
08/0000 UTC JTWC upped the MSW to 140 kts (1-min avg) based on satellite
CI estimates of 140 kts. And at 0600 UTC, MFR increased the intensity
to the peak 10-min avg MSW for the storm's history of 115 kts. The
CP was estimated to be 905 mb--indicating a very intense tropical
cyclone. Kalunde was located roughly 400 nm south-southwest of Diego
Garcia and moving southwestward at around 7 kts. Gales extended outward
from the center about 130 nm and the radius of 50-kt winds was estimated
at 75 nm. Kalunde peaked in intensity on the 8th--by early on 9 March
MFR and JTWC had decreased their respective MSW estimates to 115 and
120 kts. A microwave pass around 1200 UTC revealed that convection was
beginning to erode in the northwestern quadrant of the eyewall.
Tropical Cyclone Kalunde spent the 10th and 11th moving slowly south-
westward and gradually weakening. The cyclone apparently underwent an
eyewall replacement cycle late on the 10th and early on the 11th, and
had developed concentric eyewalls again by late on 11 March--a TRMM pass
at 11/2250 UTC depicted concentric eyewalls once more. After dropping
the MSW to 95 kts (1-min avg) at 10/1200 UTC, JTWC gradually increased
the intensity back to 105 kts by 0000 UTC on 12 March, but this apparent
slight re-intensification was not reflected in the official MSW estimates
from MFR. Kalunde had been slowly approaching the small island of
Rodrigues (belonging to Mauritius), and at 1200 UTC on 12 March was
centered around 30 nm slightly south of due east of Rodrigues, moving
south-southwestward at 6 kts. Satellite CI estimates ranged from 90 to
105 kts, and MFR followed the lower of these and estimated the intensity
at 80 kts (10-min avg), whereas JTWC maintained the MSW at 105 kts (1-min
avg). (Note: According to Karl Hoarau, at its closest point of approach
to Rodrigues, the center of Kalunde passed about 16 nm east of the
eastern coast of the island around 12/1315 UTC.)
After passing Rodrigues, Kalunde began to weaken. At 13/0000 UTC JTWC
dropped the MSW to 75 kts (1-min avg), but MFR still maintained the
intensity at 80 kts. The storm by then had turned to the south-southeast
and this motion continued throughout the 13th and 14th. Weakening
continued and MFR downgraded Kalunde to severe tropical storm status with
60-kt winds at 0000 UTC on 14 March. By 1200 UTC the MSW was down to
55 kts (50 kts per JTWC), and visible imagery indicated that the LLCC was
fully-exposed with deep convection sheared 90 nm to the southeast.
Kalunde continued trekking south-southeastward on the 15th as it under-
went extratropical transition. JTWC issued their final warning at 1200
UTC, estimating the intensity at 30 kts (MFR was reporting 35 kts). The
JTWC warning noted that while CI estimates were only 25 kts, animated
satellite imagery suggested that the system was slightly stronger than
the Dvorak estimates yielded. Kalunde was rapidly losing its last
vestiges of tropical characteristics, and at 1800 UTC MFR declared the
system extratropical, located approximately 600 nm south-southeast of
Rodrigues. The final bulletin was issued at 1200 UTC on the 16th.
C. Meteorological Observations
------------------------------
At Pointe Canon (WMO 61988: 19.7S/63.4E) wind gusts had reached 66 kts
by 12/0400 UTC and were up to 86 kts at 0900 UTC. At 1200 UTC the peak
MSW (10-min avg) of 47 kts, gusting to 89 kts, was recorded with the SLP
measured at 965.3 mb. The maximum gust of 93 kts occurred between 1200
and 1300 UTC. The airport weather station at Plaine Corail (19.7S/
63.3E) recorded a sustained wind of 65 kts and a gust of 102 kts at
1100 UTC before the anemometer failed. A press report indicated that
the peak gust at Plaine Corail was 115 kts, but it isn't certain if this
value is an estimate or else was recorded before the anemometer failed.
Plaine Corail was more exposed to the strongest winds than Pointe Canon,
and gusts there had reached 91 kts as early as 0400 UTC and 101 kts by
0900 UTC. Almost 3/4 of the island is over 150 m in altitude, so it
seems likely that peak gusts of 110 kts or higher were experienced over
the greater part of Rodrigues. Gusts exceeded 65 kts for a period of
34 hours.
One report indicated that 300 mm of rain was recorded during an 8-hour
period, but the time and location weren't given. Plaine Corail measured
90 mm of rain during a three-hour period between 0600 and 0900 UTC on
12 March. (A special thanks to Karl Hoarau and Patrick Hoareau for
sending the above information.)
D. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
Press reports referred to the damage on Rodrigues as being "severe"
or "catastrophic", but I've not been able to locate much specific
information. One report noted that 85% of the power network was
damaged, and there were other reports of severe damage to power and
telephone lines. Damage from Kalunde was reportedly worse than that
caused by Tropical Cyclone Bella in January, 1991, which passed 25 nm
west of the island and left a trail of destruction. Fortunately, no
deaths have been reported due to the cyclone.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - From 90E to 135E
Activity for March: 2 tropical cyclones of storm intensity
Sources of Information
----------------------
The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
Northwest Australia/Southeast Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are
the warnings and advices issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning
Centres at Perth, Western Australia, and Darwin, Northern Territory.
References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period
unless otherwise stated.
In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Australian centres' coor-
dinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the
source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included
in the tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of
satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in
the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings.
Northwest Australia/Southeast Indian Ocean
Tropical Activity for March
------------------------------------------
Two tropical cyclones were named between longitudes 90E and 135E
during March. Harriet formed well south of Java very early in the month,
and initially moved eastward to a position north of westernmost Western
Australia. The system then moved southward toward the coast, but
performed an inverse recurvature southwestward and remained offshore.
During the second week of March, Tropical Cyclone Craig formed northwest
of Darwin and pursued an unusual eastward course, crossing Melville
Island, then skimming along the northern coastline of the Northern
Territory before trekking southeastward and eventually making landfall
along the Gulf Coast of the Cape York Peninsula. Very interestingly,
Harriet and Craig were analyzed as rather strong tropical storms by the
Australian TCWCs with both reaching peak 10-min avg intensities of
55 kts (equivalent to a 1-min avg MSW of about 63 kts), whereas JTWC's
peak MSW for both systems was only 35 kts. Also, as the month of
March began, former Tropical Cyclone Graham, which had made landfall
southwest of Broome late on 28 February, was dissipating over Western
Australia.
The reports on Tropical Cyclones Harriet and Craig follow. Simon
Clarke, of Cleveland, Queensland, wrote the summary for Craig. A
special thanks to Simon for writing the report.
TROPICAL CYCLONE HARRIET
(TC-21S)
2 - 11 March
--------------------------------------------
A. Storm Origins
----------------
A Tropical Weather Outlook issued by the Perth TCWC on 1 March noted
that a 1005-mb LOW was located about 175 nm west-southwest of Christmas
Island, drifting slowly eastward. The system was given a moderate
chance of developing into a tropical cyclone after a couple of days.
The next day the LOW was located approximately 225 nm south-southeast of
Christmas Island, still moving east-southeastward under the steering
influence of a low to mid-level equatorial ridge to the north. At 0600
UTC JTWC initiated warnings on TC-21S, estimating the MSW (1-min avg)
at 35 kts. The intensity was based on CI estimates of 30 kts and a
02/0006 UTC TRMM pass which revealed improving organization. The
system maintained a well-defined circulation, as evidenced in microwave
imagery, although convection weakened some later on the 2nd. At 2200
UTC Perth began issuing gale warnings on the LOW in anticipation of its
developing into a tropical cyclone.
By 0600 UTC on 3 March the system had reached a point approximately
500 nm north-northwest of Learmonth, Western Australia. Movement was
toward the east at 8 kts and convection was increasing once more near
the center. At 1600 UTC the Perth bulletins began to include warnings
for a band of gales well to the north of the LLCC. The JTWC warning at
1800 UTC noted that TC-21S was a small, fairly symmetrical system.
The LLCC was underneath a CDO, but development was being impaired by
the entrainment of drier air from the Australian landmass to the south-
east and by the restriction of inflow by the Indonesian islands to the
north.
B. Track and Intensity History
------------------------------
At 0400 UTC on 4 March, the Perth TCWC named the system Tropical
Cyclone Harriet, located about 450 nm north-northwest of Onslow and
moving slowly southeastward. The intensity was estimated at 45 kts.
(JTWC's 1-min avg MSW never rose above 35 kts throughout the lifetime
of Harriet.) Harriet's center passed about 420 nm north of Learmonth
at 1800 UTC, still moving slowly southeastward. Perth lowered the
MSW to 35 kts at 04/2200 UTC, and JTWC dropped their intensity to 30 kts
for a 12-hour period beginning at 1200 UTC on 5 March. Deep convection
had decreased in areal coverage, likely due to continued entrainment of
drier air in conjunction with restricted low-level inflow from the
north. By late on the 5th the convection associated with the LLCC had
re-intensified some; Perth and JTWC accordingly upped their respective
intensity estimates to 45 and 35 kts.
Tropical Cyclone Harriet reached the easternmost point of its track
around 1600 UTC on the 5th when it was located approximately 275 nm
north-northeast of Onslow, thereafter moving slowly southward and
eventually curving toward the west-southwest. Convection fluctuated
some, but the cyclone basically remained at a steady-state intensity
for about 48 hours beginning late on the 5th. Around 1200 UTC on the
7th of March, animated water vapor imagery and SSM/I data indicated that
the convection near the center had increased once more, and some
slight intensification was forecast as Harriet approached the subtropical
ridge axis. Whether or not this forecast verified depends on which
agency's warnings one follows.
At 1800 UTC Harriet was centered about 160 nm north of Learmonth and
moving west-southwestward at only 3 kts. There had been a slight
decrease noted in the deep convection, and based on CI estimates of
30 and 35 kts, JTWC lowered the intensity to 30 kts. At 2200 UTC,
however, Perth upped the MSW to 50 kts, and at 1000 UTC on the 8th,
Harriet reached its peak intensity of 55 kts (10-min avg) when centered
approximately 300 nm north-northwest of Carnarvon. At 0000 UTC on
9 March, JTWC issued their final warning on Harriet with the MSW
estimated at only 25 kts. The remarks noted that there was still some
weak convection over the LLCC but the system was small in areal size.
The Perth TCWC, however, maintained the intensity of Harriet at 55 kts
until 09/0700 UTC, when an interim warning was issued lowering the MSW to
40 kts.
Harriet was declared to be an extratropical gale center at 1000 UTC
when located about 325 nm west-northwest of Carnarvon. After losing its
tropical features, the storm, which for several days had been moving
west-southwestward roughly parallel to the Western Australian coast-
line, turned southward and then southeastward. The final gale warning
from Perth at 0100 UTC on 11 March placed the 45-kt gale center about
260 nm south-southwest of Perth, or just off the southwestern corner of
Australia, moving southeastward at 30 kts.
C. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
No damage or casualties are known to have resulted from Tropical
Cyclone Harriet.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
TROPICAL CYCLONE CRAIG
(TC-24S)
7 - 12 March
------------------------------------------
A. Storm Origins
----------------
Craig was the first tropical cyclone of the 2002/2003 season to be
named by the Northern Territory Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre at
Darwin.
A cluster of thunderstorms embedded in the monsoon trough was
identified in the far northeastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf as early as
7 March 2003, and this cluster was to develop further while drifting
toward the north. On 8 March, the first Tropical Cyclone Advice was
issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Darwin, for the developing tropical
LOW located 90 nautical miles west-northwest of Darwin and moving north-
ward at 3 knots under the influence of the mid-level equatorial westerly
steering flow. Organization was improving with conditions favourable
for further development. The tropical LOW continued to improve in
structure while steadily intensifying. Overnight, the LOW moved in a
clockwise loop west of Bathurst Island, and by 09/0500 UTC the system
was upgraded to tropical cyclone status and named Craig.
B. Track and Intensity History
------------------------------
At the time of naming, the slow-moving Tropical Cyclone Craig was
centred in the Timor Sea about 75 nautical miles northwest of Cape
Fourcroy, or 140 nautical miles northwest of Darwin, with a central
pressure of 992 hPa. Craig was to commence a track generally in an
easterly and then east-southeasterly direction in the near-equatorial
westerly steering flow while slowly intensifying. By 10/1200 UTC Craig
was located in the Timor Sea only about 15 nautical miles northeast of
Snake Bay, Melville Island, with a central pressure of 985 hPa, moving
east-southeastward at 5 knots. The cyclone subsequently crossed the
northeastern tip of Melville Island with the MSW estimated at 50 knots
(10-minute average). High tides and heavy rains caused flooding in
low-lying areas.
Craig emerged in the Van Dieman Gulf and continued to intensify,
reaching a peak intensity of 55 knots and a minimum central pressure
of 980 hPa at 11/0000 UTC prior to making landfall near the base of
the Coburg Peninsula about 50 nautical miles southeast of Cape Don, or
45 nautical miles northwest of Oenpelli. The cyclone brought destructive
winds of 55 knots, heavy rains and abnormally high tides to the coastal
areas where the centre moved onshore. (Editor's Note: It should be
pointed out that JTWC's estimated 1-minute average MSW for Craig never
exceeded 35 knots at anytime during the storm's history.)
Following the coastal crossing, Craig began to gradually weaken due
to land interaction whilst skirting the far Northern Territory coast-
line, all the while gradually accelerating on an easterly path under the
influence of the low-level near-equatorial ridge. Craig was also
becoming increasing affected by poor outflow conditions and increasing
vertical wind shear. Nonetheless, Craig was able to sustain tropical
cyclone intensity, albeit weakened, until final re-emergence over the
Gulf of Carpentaria close to the far northeastern tip of the Northern
Territory at 2000 UTC on 11 March.
Tropical Cyclone Craig accelerated and ultimately moved at 22 kts
toward the southeast and finally south-southeast whilst crossing the
Gulf of Carpentaria. Craig encountered considerable difficulty in
regaining structure under strong upper-level wind shear. The asymmetric
wind and rain structure of Craig appears to have affected its ability to
remain a deep system under a strong thermal gradient. QuikScat winds
showed that strong winds under the rainband were restricted mostly to
the western flank with a 70-knot south-southeast wind indicated near
15.5S, 140.7E.
As the cyclone approached the eastern coast of the Gulf of
Carpentaria, the apparent centre visible on radar continued moving
towards the southeast. However, the low-level centre came to a halt
and remained virtually stationary over the next 12 hours. This
asymmetry near the centre in all likelihood gave the low-level
circulation a northwesterly component of motion.
Craig finally crossed the Queensland coast at 12/0600 UTC just south
of Kowanyama as a 985 hPa storm with the MSW estimated at 50 knots. Upon
crossing the coast, Craig lost all forward momentum and floundered close
to the coast. The entire upper-level structure of Craig was
subsequently seen to shear away, leaving a cloud free LLCC over land
close to the southeastern Gulf of Carpentaria during the night of
12 March.
C. Meteorological Observations
------------------------------
Following are a few observations passed along by Michael Foley of
the Darwin TCWC--a special thanks to Michael for sending them. (All
sustained winds represent a 10-minute averaging period.)
(1) McCluer Island reported sustained winds of 40 kts, gusting to
52 kts, at 11/0510 UTC with a SLP of 996.8 hPa.
(2) South Goulburn Island at 11/0700 UTC recorded winds of 40 kts with
a peak gust of 57 kts. The minimum SLP of 987.6 hPa occurred at
0600 UTC.
(3) At Maningrida a 20-minute calm was experienced. The strongest winds
were southerlies following the calm; many trees were felled pointing
east-northeastward. The minimum pressure recorded was 987.7 hPa.
(4) Milingimbi reported a peak gust of 42 kts at 11/1500 UTC (the
sustained wind at the time was only 23 kts), whereas the minimum
SLP of 991.8 hPa was recorded at 1330 UTC.
(5) Elcho Island recorded sustained winds of 35 kts, gusting to 47 kts,
at 11/1710 UTC with a SLP of 993.4 hPa.
(6) At Nhulunbuy the peak gust of 46 kts along with a 33-kt sustained
wind was recorded at 11/2134 UTC. The minimum SLP of 992.2 hPa
occurred earlier at 2000 UTC.
(7) A marine pilot from Brisbane was guiding vessel C6OZ3, anchored
130 nm west of Booby Island (10.6S/141.9E) from 11/1400 through
12/0700 UTC. The pilot stated that he experienced sustained
winds of 55 kts with gusts over 60 kts and a 10-metre swell.
The vessel was apparently located under a rain band well east of
Craig's centre.
D. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
There were no casualties as a consequence of Tropical Cyclone Craig,
and damage was relatively inconsequential, given that the storm crossed
the coast in relatively sparsely populated areas. Slight damage was
restricted to power lines and vegetation in the Tiwi Islands, minor
structural damage on Melville Island, and widespread but relatively
minor damage to vegetation in other areas of the Northern Territory.
Some minor damage was also reported to small craft in the
northwestern Gulf of Carpentaria and to the Alcan Plant at Nhulunbuy.
On the Queensland coast, Craig's effects were of little consequence
and restricted to widespread but minor damage to native vegetation
and moderate to locally heavy rainfalls. At Kowanyama an uprooted
tree damaged one house, and numerous trees and branches fell in
Kowanyama and Pormuraaw. Roads were cut throughout the region. Weipa,
which was well to the north of the cyclone's centre, recorded a storm
surge of 1.1 metres, significant wave heights of 3 metres, and peak wave
heights of 5 metres. (A special thanks to Michael Foley and Jeff
Callaghan for passing along information on the effects of Craig.)
(Report written by Simon Clarke)
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - From 135E to 160E
Activity for March: 1 tropical cyclone of storm intensity **
1 severe tropical cyclone (hurricane) ++
** - system formed west of 135E and moved eastward into area
++ - system became very intense after moving east of 160E
Sources of Information
----------------------
The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
Northeast Australia/Coral Sea tropical cyclones are the warnings
and advices issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at
Brisbane, Queensland, and Darwin, Northern Territory, and on very
infrequent occasions, by the centre at Port Moresby, Papua New
Guinea. References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging
period unless otherwise stated.
In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Australian centres' coor-
dinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the
source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included
in the tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of
satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in
the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings.
Northeast Australia/Coral Sea
Tropical Activity for March
-----------------------------
Two tropical cyclones were active in the region between 135E and 160E
during March. Tropical Cyclone Erica formed on 4 March off the Queens-
land coast. The system remained quasi-stationary for a day or two, then
began drifting slowly northward and north-northeastward. Erica weakened
to below gale force late on the 6th and warnings were dropped. The LOW
continued drifting north-northeastward, reaching a point southwest of
the Solomon Islands by the 8th. The system had become better organized,
so gale warnings were re-initiated at 08/0600 UTC. Erica was renamed
as a tropical cyclone on the 10th, and reached severe tropical cyclone
(hurricane) intensity on the 11th. The cyclone gradually began to
accelerate toward the southeast and moved out of Brisbane's AOR around
0600 UTC on 12 March.
The other system was Tropical Cyclone Craig which formed near Darwin
on 9 March. Craig moved eastward across Melville Island and the northern
coast of the Northern Territory, emerging into the Gulf of Carpentaria
on the 11th. Craig subsequently accelerated southeastward across the
Gulf and made landfall near the base of the Cape York Peninsula on the
12th. The complete report on Tropical Cyclone Craig can be found in the
previous section of this summary covering the Northwest Australia/
Southeast Indian Ocean region.
The report on Severe Tropical Cyclone Erica, authored by Simon Clarke,
follows. A special thanks to Simon for writing the report.
TROPICAL CYCLONE ERICA
(TC-22P / TD-13F)
2 - 16 March
------------------------------------------
A. Storm Origins
----------------
Erica was the first tropical cyclone of the 2002/2003 season to
be named in the Queensland Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre's area of
responsibility. However, it was New Caledonia that was to bear the
brunt of the cyclone as it carved its swath eastward over the Coral
Sea to become the strongest cyclone to affect that nation in recent
history. Previously, Koumac, on the northwestern tip of the main
island of New Caledonia, recorded 100 knots during the passage of
Tropical Cyclone Harry in February, 1989, and Noumea in the southwest
recorded a peak gust of 86 knots during Tropical Cyclone Colleen in
1969. Erica's winds were to exceed both these measurements.
Long-lived Erica can be traced back to a tropical LOW embedded in
the monsoon trough north of the Tiwi Islands (Northern Territory,
Australia) on 13 February 2003. This monsoon depression moved south-
southwest into the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and crossed the coast near
the Western Australia/Northern Territory border two days later without
reaching tropical cyclone status. For the following three weeks
the monsoon LOW, readily identifiable in satellite imagery, trekked
across the interior of Australia, passing to the south of Alice
Springs and then back towards the north to the Mount Isa district of
Queensland. By 1 March, the monsoon LOW had commenced an easterly
path and entered the Coral Sea near the Whitsunday Islands early on
the 3rd of March.
Jeff Callaghan from the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology provided
the following commentary :
"The LOW moved seawards to the east, initially weakening before
intensifying again. Frederick Reef AWS began reporting MSW 10-minute
gales of 34 knots and MSLP 1004.0 hPa at 03/2300 UTC. The QuikScat
data showed the centre near 20S, 152E, well-removed from the gales.
These gales were located in an area of heavy rain, which appeared to
be associated with a zone of warm air advection generated as a thermal
trough at 700 hPa developed over the region. At this time the system
was situated in 15-knot southwesterly shear, based on the CIMSS data."
This shear then weakened and the LOW became more vertically-aligned,
being upgraded and code-named Erica at 04/0600UTC when located near
20.5S, 154.0E, or about 425 nautical miles east-southeast of Townsville.
B. Track and Intensity History
------------------------------
Soon after being named, Erica was embedded in an elongated north-
east to southwest cloud structure. Under the influence of a low to
mid-level ridge to the south, Erica's LLCC was steered back towards the
west-northwest, and thence on a path generally in a north-northwesterly
and finally northerly direction while losing its upper-level cloud
structure against the prevailing direction of the moderate upper-level
wind shear environment. Erica eventually lost cyclone status at 2230
UTC on 7 March. During its initial life as a named cyclone, Erica
peaked with a MSW (10-minute average) of 55 knots.
The LLCC of the remnant depression meandered slowly to the northeast
and thence eastward for the following six days, gradually assuming a
position to the near south of the Solomon Islands. During this time the
tropical depression regained an upper-level cloud structure under
improving conditions favouring redevelopment as wind shear relaxed and
an upper-level trough developed over eastern Australia. This slow
moving upper-level trough ultimately set the system on its path toward
the southeast.
Eventually Erica was renamed as a tropical cyclone at 10/1800 UTC
whilst located at 12.7S, 158.9E, or about 200 nautical miles south-
southwest of Honiara on Guadalcanal. Erica initially commenced a slow
trek generally to the south and south-southeast and maintained this track
for the following two days as it gained strength, reaching hurricane
intensity at 1800 UTC on 11 March. By 13/0600 UTC Erica was located
near 20.1S, 161.8E, or approximately 300 nautical miles west-northwest
of Noumea, New Caledonia, moving southeastward at 8 knots as it was
influenced by the weak mid-level ridge to its east. At this time,
Erica reached its peak intensity of 915 hPa with an estimated MSW of
115 knots close to its centre. (The peak 1-minute average MSW estimate
from JTWC was 140 knots.) Erica's eye had shrunk in diameter and
become symmetrical. Outflow remained good in all quadrants; however,
UW-CIMSS charts depicted increasing upper-level shear to the south of
the cyclone.
By 13/1800 UTC Erica had reached a point near 21.1S, 164.4E, or just
to the south of the far northwestern tip of New Caledonia. Erica's core
closely parallelled the southwestern coast of the nation, crossing over
the extreme southern end of the island. The cyclone was rapidly
accelerating in forward motion toward the east-southeast, and also
beginning to rapidly weaken under the influence of increasing shear
as it crossed the far southern tip of New Caledonia and the Iles des
Pins. By 15/1200 UTC, Erica had undergone complete extratropical
transition. The remnant depression continued to move rapidly to the
east-southeast and the final warning was issued by the Wellington (New
Zealand) office at 16/1800 UTC as the remains of Erica passed 33S, 167W
(far to the east of New Zealand).
C. Observations
----------------
The following (slightly edited) observations were provided by Jeff
Callaghan of the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology in relation to
Erica's pre-life impact on northern Queensland:
"On the morning of 2 March 2003 very strong westerly winds were
reported from areas north of Cairns airport and the Barron River up
as far as Cape Tribulation (46 km north of Port Douglas). Wind damage
occurred between 5 AM and 8 AM local time (1900 UTC and 2200 UTC).
Cairns Meteorological Office received numerous telephone calls describing
the damage caused by these winds. A Park Ranger from the Cape
Tribulation area estimated the winds to be 40-50 knots and gusting to
approximately 70 knots from the west. He described the damage as
significant with trees uprooted, large branches broken--crushing a
car--and leaves stripped from trees.
"In the Mossman and Port Douglas areas reports included leaves being
stripped from trees, trees being blown almost horizontal to the ground,
large trees being blown over and boats dragging their moorings. One
large tree fell on a house at Oak Beach (15 km south-southeast of Port
Douglas). Power was lost in several areas due to power lines being
brought down by trees and branches. The northern beach suburbs of
Cairns were also affected with similar damage.
"The low-pressure system which would develop into Tropical Cyclone
Erica was centred just south of Townsville at 1100 UTC 1 March 2003,
but extended an elongated trough system just to the west of the Cairns
region. By 2000 UTC on 1 March this trough had moved just offshore.
"A strong pressure gradient had developed between Mareeba (elevation
471.9 m) and Cairns (elevation 3 m) by 2000 UTC 1 March. The two
stations are 38 km apart and the pressure difference was 1.8 hPa. The
MSL charts showed a ridge developing at Mareeba and a trough developing
along the coast north of Cairns by 2000 UTC 1 March. A very strong
pressure gradient was evident parallel to the coast and ranges north-
northwest of Cairns.
"It was calculated that a 1.8 hPa drop over the 38 km between Mareeba
and Cairns could generate a geostrophic wind of 92.75 m/s (50.4 knots)
for the given temperatures. Although this is ridiculously large, and
due to the tightly curved isobars in the region the geostrophic
approximation is invalid, it does serve to show that a significant
pressure gradient had developed between Cairns and Mareeba by 2000 UTC
on 1 March 2003.
"The winds over the Cairns region during this period were deep
westerlies, and they indicated the passage of a trough system between
1700 UTC and 2300 UTC (during the period of damaging winds).
"The low-pressure centre was located just offshore near 20 degrees
south at 0200 UTC 2 March, and by 02/1100 UTC the LOW had moved farther
out to sea. By 2000 UTC on 2 March the LOW was moving back towards the
coast as a strong pressure gradient developed along the coast to the
south. This motion back towards the coast was influenced by deep
ridging which had developed south of the LOW up to 500 hPa by 2300 UTC
on 2 March.
"This enhanced pressure gradient between the LOW and the coast ridge
produced gale to storm-force winds at the Hamilton Island AWS (WMO 94368
near 20.2S, 148.6E). The first gale registered was 150/39 knots
(10-minute mean) at 1711 UTC 2 March. The maximum 10-minute mean wind
at the AWS was 140/49 knots at 02/1718 UTC when the lowest MSLP of
999.9 hPa was recorded. The final gale observation was 150/36 knots at
0000 UTC on 3 March."
For the ensuing seven days Erica and its associated remnant
depression travelled across the northern Coral Sea to assume a
position to the near south of the Solomon Islands. The following
observations are from the second phase of the regenerated Erica as
the cyclone moved alongside New Caledonia.
The local press reported that a weather station at Noumea recorded
a maximum 10-minute sustained wind of 78 knots with peak gusts exceeding
108 knots. As the cyclone was close in and parallel to the west coast
north of Noumea, it is likely that winds were probably much stronger in
some areas to the north.
The centre of Tropical Cyclone Erica passed very near Noumea which
recorded a minimum SLP of 968.8 hPa at 0000 UTC 14 March. The station
of Iles des Pins (22.6S, 167.5E) recorded a minimum SLP of 963.7 hPa
at 14/0300 UTC and a maximum gust of 103 knots between 0300 UTC and
0600 UTC.
Erica had passed its peak intensity prior to striking New Caledonia,
dropping from a 140-knot cyclone to 100 knots in only a few hours (this
based on JTWC's warnings). This has been put down partly to an eyewall
replacement cycle, gradually increasing vertical wind shear and
interruption of the eyewall replacement cycle by New Caledonia's
terrain.
D. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
Erica's main impact was on the main island of New Caledonia.
Although the cyclone weakened markedly before reaching New Caledonia,
it remained an intense storm with wind gusts officially reported in
excess of 108 knots for the first time on the island. Erica caused
extensive damage along the main island's west coast and in the capital,
Noumea. Roofs were torn off, trees were uprooted, power and phone
lines were cut, and roads were closed. Many root crops were destroyed
in the Northern Province; however, the water supply system was left
largely intact. Erica left up to 1000 homeless as well as seriously
damaging public buildings. Two fatalities were reported with nine
people seriously injured and over one hundred with less serious
injuries.
The small towns of Bourail, Kone, Pouembout, Koumac and Voh in the
North Province suffered extensive damage including loss of electricity
and telecommunications. In the small village of Pohe, up to 90 percent
of crops were destroyed. Extensive damage was also reported in the
southern village of Yate near the main hydro-electric dam, where about
half of the population was left without shelter.
Students were sent home prior to the cyclone's arrival with all
schools on the island closed during the height of the storm. Schools
sustained damage estimated at more than US$15 million. Of the
66 secondary schools, only seventeen were able to function on Monday
following the cyclone, mainly due to failed power and water supplies and
for other safety reasons. New Caledonia's only university, the UNC, was
also badly damaged. However, all primary schools and kindergartens were
functional on Monday following the cyclone.
The French government immediately released more than US$25 million
to rebuild 1000 homes in New Caledonia destroyed by the cyclone. The
minister in charge of overseas territories, Brigette Giardin, expected
a further contribution of US$17 million to meet the full cost of the
emergency housing program. On Sunday, a CASA military transport plane
based in Tahiti, French Polynesia, another French Pacific territory,
ferried 1.5 tons of emergency supplies to New Caledonia. It also
carried a group of ten military civil engineers who were sent to help
New Caledonia's authorities with the post-storm clean up, secure
buildings, and remove debris from the roads.
Geoff Mackley's website contains a hair-raising account of his
adventures in New Caledonia during the height of Tropical Cyclone
Erica as well as several pictures of the cyclone-spawned destruction.
The URL is:
http://www.rambocam.com/erica.html>
Additional articles on the effects of Tropical Cyclone Erica in
New Caledonia can be found at the following URL:
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vLND>
(Report written by Simon Clarke with significant contributions by
Jeff Callaghan of the Brisbane TCWC)
*************************************************************************
SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E
Activity for March: 1 tropical depression
2 tropical cyclones of hurricane intensity **
** - one of these originated in Brisbane's AOR and moved eastward
across 160E
Sources of Information
----------------------
The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
South Pacific tropical cyclones are the warnings and advisories
issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Nadi, Fiji (for
waters north of latitude 25S), and Wellington, New Zealand (for
waters south of latitude 25S). References to sustained winds imply
a 10-minute averaging period unless otherwise stated.
In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Southern Hemisphere
centres' coordinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings
are also the source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind
values included in the tracks file. Additionally, information
describing details of satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation
features included in the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC
warnings.
South Pacific Tropical Activity for March
-----------------------------------------
The TCWC at Nadi, Fiji, issued advisories on three tropical systems
during March. A large area of disturbed weather in the monsoon trough
early in the month spawned two distinct circulations, numbered as TD-11F
and TD-12F. Tropical Depression 11F was first identified on 6 March
approximately 150 nm northwest of Fiji. The system remained weak and
drifted west-southwestward over the next couple of days, being last
mentioned on the 8th about 200 nm south of Port Vila, Vanuatu. This
depression was in between the intensifying Tropical Cyclone Erica to the
west and the developing Tropical Cyclone Eseta (12F) to the east.
Eseta was named on the 10th west of Fiji and pursued an initial southward
track, later curving to the southeast and eventually almost due eastward.
Eseta surprisingly intensified very rapidly into an intense tropical
cyclone as it crossed the International Dateline. The storm brushed the
southernmost island of the Kingdom of Tonga, causing some relatively
minor damage.
The most intense cyclone of the month was a visitor from Brisbane's
AOR. Tropical Cyclone Erica entered Nadi's AOR on 12 March as a rapidly
intensifying system. Erica reached a peak intensity of 115 kts (140 kts
1-min avg MSW from JTWC) on the 13th as it was tracking toward New
Caledonia. The storm began to weaken as it approached the island but
was still quite potent as it paralleled New Caledonia's western coast
and then crossed the southern tip of the island. The complete report
on Tropical Cyclone Erica can be found in the previous section of this
summary covering the Northeast Australia/Coral Sea region.
The report on Tropical Cyclone Eseta, written by Simon Clarke,
follows. A special thanks to Simon for his assistance.
TROPICAL CYCLONE ESETA
(TD-12F / TC-25P)
7 - 14 March
------------------------------------------
A. Storm Origins
----------------
An area of disturbed tropical weather was first identified on 6 March
in the general vicinity of and just northeast of Vanuatu, with two weak
centres of circulation within the monsoon trough (TD-11F and TD-12F).
By 9 March TD-12F had become the dominant centre and was the depression
that would develop into the seventh named cyclone and the sixth intense
tropical cyclone of the 2002/2003 South Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season.
Prior to development, TD-12F was slow-moving, and despite the presence
of a favourable environment for development consisting of high SSTs
of 30 C, weak to moderate shear and a position to the west of an upper-
level (250 hPa) outflow centre, it lacked spin at low levels. The
circulation moved initially towards the west at about 5 knots, showing
diurnal fluctuations in convective cover. All the while, organization
was improving with convective features becoming permanent with a
detached area of gales developing in the northeastern sector of the
system.
By March 10/1730 UTC, TD-12F was located near 16.9S, 172.0E, or
approximately 300 nautical miles west of Viti Levu (Fiji's largest
island). The central pressure had fallen to 995 hPa and 35-knot winds
had developed nearer the centre. Therefore, TD-12F was upgraded to
Tropical Cyclone Eseta at this time.
B. Track and Intensity History
------------------------------
Initially, the western periphery of the mid-level ridge to the
east of Eseta steered the storm on a south-southeasterly path at
7 knots. Eseta underwent steady development under favourable
environmental conditions, and by 12/0000 UTC had attained hurricane
status with satellite imagery revealing a ragged (banding) eye. The
storm was then centred roughly 250 nautical miles southwest of Fiji.
Eseta continued to travel towards the southeast with an ever-increasing
forward momentum.
Tropical Cyclone Eseta underwent explosive intensification on
12 March with the estimated central pressure falling 40 hPa--from
970 to 930 hPa--in only six hours! Peak intensity was achieved at
12/1800 UTC with Eseta located near 21.9S, 179.9E, or about 250 nautical
miles south-southeast of Fiji. At this time Eseta had a central
pressure of 930 hPa and was producing maximum 10-minute average winds
of 95 knots close to its centre. This intensity was maintained for
approximately twelve hours as the cyclone continued on an easterly path
at 20 knots along the southern periphery of the mid-level ridge to the
north. (Editor's Note: JTWC's peak 1-minute average MSW for Eseta was
110 knots, which agrees very closely with Fiji's 95-knot 10-minute
mean MSW. Interestingly, JTWC's peak was not reached until Nadi had
scaled back the intensity a bit to 90 knots.)
Weakening was to be very rapid as Eseta encountered strong vertical
wind shear. Convection became elongated (northwest to southeast) and
the eye became cloud-filled and indistinct. By 14/0150 UTC the LLCC
had become increasingly exposed with the deep convection displaced to
the east. By 14/0000 UTC Eseta, moving at 25 knots, had passed into the
RSMC Wellington's area of responsibility and soon lost tropical cyclone
characteristics and status about 600 nautical miles south of Rarotonga.
The remnant depression was subsequently absorbed into a frontal boundary
to the south and was no longer a surface synoptic feature by 15/0000 UTC.
C. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
Tropical Cyclone Eseta spent its life at sea, passing well to the south
of Fiji and somewhat closer to the southern islands of Tonga. The Fijian
press reported heavy rains and flash flooding in parts of the Western
Division as Eseta passed well to the south of the nation. The storm was
rapidly weakening while passing just to the south of the main Tongan
Island group. Eseta hit the small southern Tongan island of Eua,
destroying fruit-bearing trees (breadfruit and bananas and the like),
as well as the food crop, kava. There are no known reports of casualties
as a direct consequence of Tropical Cyclone Eseta.
(Report written by Simon Clarke)
*************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This summary should be considered a very preliminary
overview of the tropical cyclones that occur in each month. The cyclone
tracks (provided separately) will generally be based upon operational
warnings issued by the various tropical cyclone warning centers. The
information contained therein may differ somewhat from the tracking and
intensity information obtained from a "best-track" file which is based
on a detailed post-seasonal analysis of all available data. Information
on where to find official "best-track" files from the various warning
centers will be passed along from time to time.
The track files are not being sent via e-mail. They can be retrieved
from the archive sites listed below. (Note: I do have a limited e-mail
distribution list for the track files. If anyone wishes to receive
these via e-mail, please send me a message.)
Both the summaries and the track files are standard text files
created in DOS editor. Download to disk and use a viewer such as
Notepad or DOS editor to view the files.
The first summary in this series covered the month of October,
1997. Back issues can be obtained from the following websites
(courtesy of Michael Bath, Michael V. Padua, Michael Pitt, and
Chris Landsea):
http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/>
http://www.typhoon2000.ph> OR http://64.235.42.210>
http://mpittweather.com>
ftp://ftp.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/pub/landsea/padgett/>
Another website where much information about tropical cyclones may
be found is the website for the UK Meteorological Office. Their site
contains a lot of statistical information about tropical cyclones
globally on a monthly basis. The URL is:
http://www.met-office.gov.uk/sec2/sec2cyclone/sec2cyclone.html>
TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS AVAILABLE
JTWC now has available on its website the complete Annual Tropical
Cyclone Report (ATCR) for 2001 (2000-2001 season for the Southern
Hemisphere). ATCRs for earlier years are available also. Recently
added was the report for the Southern Hemisphere 2001-2002 season.
The URL is: http://199.10.200.33/jtwc.html>
Also, TPC/NHC has available on its webpage nice "technicolor"
tracking charts for the 2002 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific
tropical cyclones; also, preliminary storm reports for all the 2002
Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific cyclones are now available, as
well as track charts and reports on storms from earlier years.
The URL is: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov>
A special thanks to Michael Bath of McLeans Ridges, New South Wales,
Australia, for assisting me with proofreading the summaries.
PREPARED BY
Gary Padgett
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 334-222-5327
John Wallace (Eastern North Pacific, North Indian Ocean, Western
Gulf of Mexico)
E-mail: [email protected]
Kevin Boyle (Eastern Atlantic, Western Northwest Pacific, South
China Sea)
E-mail: [email protected]
Simon Clarke (Northeast Australia/Coral Sea, South Pacific)
E-mail: [email protected]
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
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Document: summ0303.htm
Updated: 27th December 2006 |
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