The 1980–81 Australian region cyclone season was an above average

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

season. It officially started on 1 November 1980 and officially ended on 30 April 1981.

Systems

Severe Tropical Cyclone Alice–Adelaide

Formed on 3 November, just south of Selat Mentawai then moved southwestward before reaching a peak intensity of 110 knots (125 mph, 205 km/h) and a minimum pressure of on 8 November. On 12 November the storm began to move northwestward and two days later dissipated over the open Indian Ocean.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Bert–Christelle

The origins of Cyclone Bert–Christelle can be traced to a quasistationary convergence zone that spread across Indonesia to north of the

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. Bert–Christelle was slow to organize but began to show signs of organization on November 26. Later on that day, the disturbance gained sufficient organization, noted by curved cloudbands, to be classified as Cyclone Bert. The cyclone moved to the southwest, gradually intensifying and attained a peak intensity of 150 km/h (90 mph) and a

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

of 965 hPa (28.49 inHg) on November 29. Bert continued the same westerly motion and exited the basin on December 3. It was subsequently named Christelle by Météo France.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Carol

Cyclone Carol formed from a weak area of low pressure to the southwest of

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, ...

on December 12. While moving to the southwest, the disturbance developed banding features and was classified as Cyclone Carol. As Carol moved to the west, it intensified and peaked at 195 km/h (120 mph) with a barometric pressure of 940 hPa (27.76 inHg) on December 16. Briefly, both Carol and Dan exhibited a

Fujiwhara interaction The Fujiwhara effect, sometimes referred to as the Fujiwara effect, Fujiw(h)ara interaction or binary interaction, is a phenomenon that occurs when two nearby cyclonic vortices move around each other and close the distance between the circulations ...

around December 17 due to their close proximity to each other. Carol began to impart wind shear on nearby Cyclone Dan, ultimately leading to its demise. Carol continued its track, but encountered strong wind shear and rapidly weakened. Carol's low level center became decoupled and continued to the west, where it dissipated on December 24.

Tropical Cyclone Dan

Cyclone Dan formed from an area of convection situated north of the Cocos Islands in mid-December. The tropical low moved eastwards and curved to the southwest, coalescing to form Dan. Dan's track shifted abruptly to the northeast from interacting with Carol, attaining a peak intensity of 95 km/h (60 mph) and 985 hPa (29.08 inHg) on December 16. Intensification quickly halted as strong upper-level flow from Cyclone Carol to its south sheared its cloudtops off. Dan's low level circulation moved erratically to the south and passed within 140 km west of

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

on December 17, where winds of 74 km/h were observed. Dan ultimately dissipated around 370 km to the south of Christmas Island on December 18. Cyclone Dan is notable in that it traveled generally towards the southeast for the duration of its existence, which is uncommon for cyclones in the area.

Tropical Cyclone Edna

Severe Tropical Cyclone Felix

Severe Tropical Cyclone Mabel

Tropical Cyclone Eddie

Tropical Cyclone Cliff

Initially a

South Pacific tropical cyclone A South Pacific tropical cyclone is a non-frontal, low pressure system that has developed, within an environment of warm sea surface temperatures and little vertical wind shear aloft in the South Pacific Ocean. Within the Southern Hemisphere there ...

, Cliff developed on February 9, near

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Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of ...

. The cyclone reached peak intensity on February 12, with an estimated central pressure of 975 hPa. It passed over

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at near peak intensity, with sustained winds . After crossing into the Australian region, Cliff struck

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on February 14, making landfall near

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The B ...

. The cyclone caused some crop and structural damages in South East Queensland, and beach erosion occurred on the

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and Sunshine coasts. One man was drowned off the Gold Coast.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Neil

Severe Tropical Cyclone Freda

Severe Tropical Cyclone Max

Cyclone Max developed from a low pressure system into a Category 1 cyclone in Van Diemen Gulf, off the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Coast, on 11 March 1981. Moving west-southwest, it crossed over Darwin, Australia later that day, causing tree damage and flooding but minimal structural damage. It subsequently moved west into the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia. The sea contains a number of reefs ...

and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

, and although intensifying to Category 3 and reaching a lowest pressure of , did not approach land again. Max was notable for being the first cyclone to pass over Darwin since the city was destroyed by

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city i ...

6 years earlier. The name ''Max'' was not retired from the Northern Australia naming list.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Olga

Severe Tropical Cyclone Paddy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1980-81 Australian region cyclone season * Australian region cyclone seasons

Aust Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, about north of Bristol and about south west of Gloucester. It is located on the eastern side of the Severn estuary, close to the eastern end of the Severn Bridge which carries the M48 ...

Tropical cyclones in 1980 Tropical cyclones in 1981