Tropical Cyclone Yasi and its predecessors
Other Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
[Extract] The following information was taken from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) webpage: http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/history/yasi.shtml (see also Figure 1). Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi began developing as a tropical low northwest of Fiji on 29 January 2011 and started tracking on a general westward track. The system quickly intensified to a cyclone category to the north of Vanuatu and was named Yasi at 10pm on 30 January by the Fijian Meteorological Service. Yasi maintained a westward track and rapidly intensified to a Category 2 by 10am on 31 January and then further to a Category 3 by 4pm on the same day. Yasi maintained Category 3 intensity for the next 24 hours before being upgraded to a Category 4 at 7pm on 1 February. During this time, Yasi started to take a more west-southwestward movement and began to accelerate towards the tropical Queensland coast. Yasi showed signs of further intensification and at 4am on 2 February it was upgraded to a marginal Category 5 system. Yasi maintained this intensity and its west-southwest movement, making landfall on the southern tropical coast near Mission Beach (138 km S of Cairns) (Figure 1) between midnight and 1am early on Thursday 3 February 2011. Being such a strong and large system, Yasi maintained a strong core with damaging winds and heavy rain, with a lowest central pressure of 929 hPa. It tracked westwards across northern Queensland and finally weakened to a tropical low near Mount Isa around 10pm on 3 February. A 5.0 m tidal surge was observed at the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) storm tide gauge at Cardwell, which is 2.3 m above Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT). The anomaly occurred at about 1.30am on a falling tide, averting more serious inundation. Some significant, yet far less substantial sea inundation occurred on the late morning high tide on 3 February between the Cairns Northern Beaches and Alva Beach, with peak levels measured at DERM's Townsville tide gauge close to the expected 0.6m above HAT causing inundation of parts of the city.
Journal
N/A
Publication Name
N/A
Volume
5
ISBN/ISSN
N/A
Edition
N/A
Issue
N/A
Pages Count
18
Location
N/A
Publisher
Australian Tsunami Research Centre, University of New South Wales
Publisher Url
N/A
Publisher Location
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Publish Date
N/A
Url
N/A
Date
N/A
EISSN
N/A
DOI
N/A