Cyclones in Australia
Cyclones occurfrequently in Australia. On average, they happen about 7 times a year. The hardest hit regions are Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory.The typical cyclone season depends on the summer monsoon. In the months before (May to June) and after (October to November), the most severe storms occur.
The most severe cyclone to make landfall in Australia in the past 12 months was »Anika«. It reached a wind speed of up to 59 km/h on March 1, 2022 at 11:00 pm local time near Broome and was 28 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a tropical depression cyclone. On the open sea, speeds of up to 100 km/h were measured (tropical storm).
Other natural hazards in Australia:
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Current satellite image of the southwest Pacific Ocean
05.02.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison
Most violent cyclones in Australia since 2018
Anika: February 25 to March 3, 2022
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 100 km/h
on land:
max. 59 km/h
Diameter:
max. 111 km
Air pressure:
below 988 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Western Australia
Western Australia
Tiffany: January 9-15, 2022
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 46 km/h
Diameter:
max. 93 km
Air pressure:
below 986 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Western Australia
Western Australia
Seth: December 31, 2021 to January 5, 2022
Region:
Eastern Australia
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 352 km
Air pressure:
below 988 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On January 5th, 2022 at 10:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 232 km west of Rainbow Beach in Queensland.
Seroja: April 4-12, 2021
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 130 km/h
Diameter:
max. 167 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 972 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On April 11th, 2021 at 8:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 57 km north of Geraldton in Western Australia.
Niran: March 1-7, 2021
Region:
Eastern Australia
Wind speed:
max. 256 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Eye:
max. 74 km
Air pressure:
below 917 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On March 1st, 2021 at 4:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 113 km west of Cairns in Queensland.
Kimi: January 17-19, 2021
Region:
Eastern Australia
Wind speed:
max. 100 km/h
Diameter:
max. 111 km
Air pressure:
below 990 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On January 18th, 2021 at 10:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 85 km northwest of Innisfail in Queensland.
Imogen: January 3-4, 2021
Region:
Eastern Australia
Wind speed:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 130 km
Air pressure:
below 995 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On January 4th, 2021 at 4:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 305 km east of Atherton in Queensland.
Gretel: March 13-19, 2020
Region:
Eastern Australia
Wind speed:
max. 115 km/h
Diameter:
max. 370 km
Air pressure:
below 971 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On March 13th, 2020 at 10:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 628 km northwest of Bowen in Queensland.
Ferdinand: February 22 to March 1, 2020
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 185 km/h
Diameter:
max. 204 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 958 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On February 27th, 2020 at 5:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 521 km northeast of Nickol in Western Australia.
Esther: February 22 to March 1, 2020
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 93 km/h
on land:
max. 50 km/h
Diameter:
max. 204 km
Air pressure:
below 992 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Western Australia
Western Australia
Uesi: February 6-17, 2020
Region:
Eastern Australia
Wind speed:
max. 143 km/h
Diameter:
max. 3741 km
Air pressure:
below 969 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On February 14th, 2020 at 2:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 692 km southwest of East Ballina in New South Wales.
Damien: February 3-10, 2020
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 157 km/h
Diameter:
max. 3726 km
Eye:
max. 74 km
Air pressure:
below 955 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
Western Australia
Western Australia
Blake: January 5-10, 2020
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
on land:
max. 93 km/h
Diameter:
max. 259 km
Air pressure:
below 989 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Western Australia
Western Australia
Claudia: January 4-19, 2020
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 152 km/h
Diameter:
max. 3748 km
Air pressure:
below 963 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Northern Territory
Western Australia
Northern Territory
Western Australia
Ann: May 10-18, 2019
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 111 km/h
on land:
max. 46 km/h
Diameter:
max. 204 km
Air pressure:
below 989 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Queensland
Queensland
Lili: May 6-11, 2019
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 185 km
Air pressure:
below 993 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On May 10th, 2019 at 6:30 am it had the shortest distance at about 387 km northeast of Darwin in Northern Territory.
Wallace: April 3-13, 2019
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 111 km/h
Diameter:
max. 648 km
Air pressure:
below 992 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On April 4th, 2019 at 9:30 pm it had the shortest distance at about 243 km northeast of Darwin in Northern Territory.
Veronica: March 18-30, 2019
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 235 km/h
Diameter:
max. 3741 km
Eye:
max. 148 km
Air pressure:
below 927 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Western Australia
Western Australia
Trevor: March 14-25, 2019
Region:
Eastern Australia
Wind speed:
max. 204 km/h
on land:
max. 111 km/h
Diameter:
max. 167 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 948 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Queensland
Queensland
Riley: January 22 to February 5, 2019
Region:
Western Australia
Wind speed:
max. 139 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Air pressure:
below 970 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The cyclone did not make direct landfall. On January 24th, 2019 at 2:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 172 km north of Broome in Western Australia.
These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.
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