Americans are overly familiar with the names of the past two hurricane seasons...Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne from 2004...Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma from this past season.
Australians are having a similar kind of season right now. They are tired of Glenda and Hubert and Floyd, and their own category five cyclone, Larry, that struck in late March on the coast of Northeast Australia.
Now another category five cyclone is threatening the northern coast of Australia. It is called Monica.
First, let me explain that the rating scale of Australian cyclones is slightly different from that used by the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia.
The Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale
Cat 1 74-95 mph
Cat 2 96-110 mph
Cat 3 111-130 mph
Cat 4 131-154 mph
Cat 5 155 mph+
Australian Cyclone Severity Scale
Cat 1 Strongest gust less than 78 mph
Cat 2 Strongest gust l78-106 mph
Cat 3 Strongest gust 107-140 mph
Cat 4 Strongest gust 140-174 mph
Cat 5 Strongest gust greater than 174 mph
Now the latest on Severe Cyclone Monica...
It is 1:25 a.m. here in Alabama...in Darwin, Australia it is 3:55 p.m.
According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology...
...Monica is 150 miles ENE of Elcho Island, along the North Coast of Australian.
...It is moving west at 7 mph
...Maximum wind gusts near the center are estimated to be 200 mph
...Central pressure 925 millibars
Satellite image of Monica: https://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/satshots/sh2306sams.jpg
Forecast track: https://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/warnings/sh2306.gif
Australian Bureau of Meteorology warnings Page: http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/warnings.shtml
(scroll down to Tropical Cyclone Advice)
The cyclone will move parallel to the north coast over the next three days, causing severe devatation along its track. It is expected to be near darwin by Tuesday. Although it will probably weaken a bit toward the end of the period as it interacts with land, it is still expected to be a 130 mph cyclone with gusts to 160 mph by then.
Darwin was hevaily damaged by its worst cyclone in history (Cyclone Tracy) early on Christmas morning 1974. Tracy had top winds of 150 mph.
Larry, which struck in March of this year was the strongest since Tracy. Larry had top winds of 125 mph. Monica is expected to bring winds of 130-145 mph when it makes on Monday.
A Cyclone Watch is in effect for the Darwin area. A Cyclone Warning is in effect for most of the rest of the North Coast.
Australians are having a similar kind of season right now. They are tired of Glenda and Hubert and Floyd, and their own category five cyclone, Larry, that struck in late March on the coast of Northeast Australia.
Now another category five cyclone is threatening the northern coast of Australia. It is called Monica.
First, let me explain that the rating scale of Australian cyclones is slightly different from that used by the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia.
The Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale
Cat 1 74-95 mph
Cat 2 96-110 mph
Cat 3 111-130 mph
Cat 4 131-154 mph
Cat 5 155 mph+
Australian Cyclone Severity Scale
Cat 1 Strongest gust less than 78 mph
Cat 2 Strongest gust l78-106 mph
Cat 3 Strongest gust 107-140 mph
Cat 4 Strongest gust 140-174 mph
Cat 5 Strongest gust greater than 174 mph
Now the latest on Severe Cyclone Monica...
It is 1:25 a.m. here in Alabama...in Darwin, Australia it is 3:55 p.m.
According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology...
...Monica is 150 miles ENE of Elcho Island, along the North Coast of Australian.
...It is moving west at 7 mph
...Maximum wind gusts near the center are estimated to be 200 mph
...Central pressure 925 millibars
Satellite image of Monica: https://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/satshots/sh2306sams.jpg
Forecast track: https://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/warnings/sh2306.gif
Australian Bureau of Meteorology warnings Page: http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/warnings.shtml
(scroll down to Tropical Cyclone Advice)
The cyclone will move parallel to the north coast over the next three days, causing severe devatation along its track. It is expected to be near darwin by Tuesday. Although it will probably weaken a bit toward the end of the period as it interacts with land, it is still expected to be a 130 mph cyclone with gusts to 160 mph by then.
Darwin was hevaily damaged by its worst cyclone in history (Cyclone Tracy) early on Christmas morning 1974. Tracy had top winds of 150 mph.
Larry, which struck in March of this year was the strongest since Tracy. Larry had top winds of 125 mph. Monica is expected to bring winds of 130-145 mph when it makes on Monday.
A Cyclone Watch is in effect for the Darwin area. A Cyclone Warning is in effect for most of the rest of the North Coast.