The 2003–04 Australian region cyclone season was a slightly below 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. Depend ...

season. It began on 1 November 2003 and ended on 30 April 2004. The regional tropical cyclone operational plan also defines a ''tropical cyclone year'' separately from a ''tropical cyclone season'', which runs from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004. Tropical cyclones in this area are monitored by four

Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as p ...

s (TCWCs): the

Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Darwin, and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

; and TCWC

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

.
/ref> __TOC__

Systems

ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/12/2002 till:30/04/2003 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/12/2002 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TL value:rgb(0.43,0.76,0.92) legend:Tropical_Low_=_<63_km/h_(<39_mph) id:C1 value:rgb(0.3,1,1) legend:Category_1_=_63–88_km/h_(39-55_mph) id:C2 value:rgb(0.75,1,0.75) legend:Category_2_=_89–117_km/h_(55-73_mph) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.85,0.55) legend:Category_3_=_118–159_km/h_(73-99_mph) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.45,0.54) legend:Category_4_=_160–199_km/h_(99-124_mph) id:C5 value:rgb(0.55,0.46,0.9) legend:Category_5_=_≥200_km/h_(≥124_mph) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:06/12/2002 till:12/12/2002 color:C3 text:"Jana (C3)" from:16/12/2002 till:23/12/2002 color:C3 text:"Debbie (C3)" from:01/01/2003 till:06/01/2003 color:TL text:"Ken (TL)" from:28/01/2003 till:01/02/2003 color:C2 text:"Linda (C2)" from:10/02/2003 till:15/02/2003 color:C2 text:"Fritz (C2)" from:25/02/2003 till:03/03/2003 color:C4 text:" Monty (C4)" from:27/02/2003 till:04/03/2003 color:C1 text:"Evan (C1)" barset:break from:08/03/2003 till:10/03/2003 color:C2 text:"Nicky-Helma (C2)" from:12/03/2003 till:28/03/2003 color:C5 text:" Fay (C5)" from:20/03/2003 till:23/03/2003 color:C2 text:"Grace (C2)" from:21/03/2003 till:27/03/2003 color:C4 text:"Oscar-Itseng (C4)" barset:break bar:Month width:6 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/12/2002 till:31/12/2002 text:December from:01/01/2003 till:31/01/2003 text:January from:01/02/2003 till:28/02/2003 text:February from:01/03/2003 till:31/03/2003 text:March from:01/04/2003 till:30/04/2003 text:April TextData = pos:(569,23) text:"(For further details, please see" pos:(713,23) text:"

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

Severe Tropical Cyclone Jana

Formed on 6 December and dissipated on 12 December.Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary December 2003
/ref>

Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie

Formed on 16 December and dissipated on 23 December. Crossed the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

coast as a Category 1.

Tropical Low Ken

Formed on 1 January 2004 and dissipated on 6 January.Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary January 2004
/ref> Operationally monitored Ken to have reached tropical cyclone intensity for 24 hours, but post-analysis revealed that Ken never was a tropical cyclone.

Monsoon Depression

Existed between 10 and 17 January. Caused heavy rainfall across western

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Tropical Cyclone Linda

Formed on 28 January and dissipated on 1 February.

Tropical Cyclone Fritz

A tropical low developed on 10 February in the northern

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

, within an active monsoon trough. The system developed rapidly and becoming Tropical Cyclone Fritz when it was northeast of

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs ...

. Fritz moved rapidly to the west, and made landfall on the northern

coast with winds of 75 km/h. The storm lost its tropical character as it crossed the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

and entered the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

on 11 February. The low reintensified over the favourable conditions in the Gulf, and reached its peak with 95 km/h winds near

Mornington Island Mornington Island, also known as Kunhanhaa, is an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Shire of Mornington (Queensland), Shire of Mornington, Queensland, Australia. It is the northernmost and largest of 22 islands that form the Wellesley I ...

. Radar imagery showed evidence of an eye as the storm passed over the island on 12 February. It then crossed over the coast onto mainland Australian and degenerated overland. The remnant travelled over

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, before merging with a cold front to the south of

. Cyclone Fritz brought up to 309 mm of rain to the

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

area. This led to a number of landslides, one of which caused severe property damage in Yorkeys Knob. There was flash flooding near Innisfail when 74 mm of rain fell in one hour. Fritz uprooted a number of trees on Mornington Island, but there was no other damage there. There were no casualties from the storm.Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary February 2004
/ref>

Severe Tropical Cyclone Monty

Cyclone Monty was a small cyclone that formed off the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

coast around 27 February 2004. Monty then strengthened into a Category 4 cyclone as it moved parallel with the

Pilbara coast The Pilbara Coast is the coastline of Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is often referred to as the North West Coast of Western Australia. It is a complex array of river mouths, ports, peninsulas, and islands. Geography North West Cap ...

. The cyclone made landfall near

Mardie Station Mardie Station is a pastoral lease and sheep then cattle station that was established in 1866 in the Pilbara region of Western Australia near the mouth of the Fortescue River. The leasee in 2012 was Fourseasons Corporation; Mardie is operating ...

as a Category 3 cyclone on 1 March. Monty damaged several boats and caused isolated flooding.

Tropical Cyclone Evan

Formed on 27 February and dissipated on 4 March. Crossed

Groote Eylandt Groote Eylandt ( Anindilyakwa: ''Ayangkidarrba'' meaning "island" ) is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the fourth largest island in Australia. It was named by the explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 and is Dutch for "Large Island" in ...

and the

mainland, causing flooding.Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2004
/ref>

Subtropical Storm

subtropical cyclone A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical cyclone, tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as Tropical cyclo ...

formed on 2 March and crossed the coast in southeast

on 5 March, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. A storm surge caused inundation along the coasts.

Tropical Cyclone Nicky–Helma

Formed on 8 March, moved west of the region on 10 March, and was renamed Helma.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Fay

A low-pressure system formed in the

and moved westward 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, ...

; it was named Tropical Cyclone Fay on 16 March. Fay was 400 km north of Wyndham and 330 kilometres west northwest of Darwin. There were reports along the

Coast of gale-force winds. On 21 March, Cyclone Fay intensified even further as the storm approached Scott Reef where significant damage occurred. Looping back towards the Kimberley coast, Fay – now a Category 3 system – approached to within 90 km of Broome on 25 March, before turning to the south-west. Broome experienced strong winds with gale-force gusts, some heavy rain and heavy seas but escaped serious damage. Fay then headed further away from the coast on the 25th before resuming a general southerly track on the 26th. Fay crossed the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

coast between the pastoral stations of Pardoo and

Wallal Wallal is the location of a bore in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The bore is located from the Great Northern Highway between Port Hedland and Broome and has an elevation of . The nearest town is Marble Bar, south of the bore. ...

between 8 am and 9 am WST on 27 March as a Category 4 storm with estimated maximum wind gusts of around 235 km/h near the center.BoM - WA Tropical Cyclone Season Summary 2003-04
/ref> The cyclone weakened as it moved inland. Little wind damage was reported from the storm despite its intensity as it made landfall in a remote part of the WA coast and consequently only impacted sparsely populated pastoral and mining areas. As the system passed close to the Yarrie mine its translation speed reduced and some 200 workers were locked down for 8 hours in two squash courts as accommodation units were overturned, water tanks "shredded" and power lines cut. Fay appears to have weakened below cyclone strength on Sunday evening (28 March) between Nullagine and Telfer. Cyclone Fay caused extensive flooding and considerable damage. Fortunately, there were no deaths.

Tropical Cyclone Grace

Grace is mostly remembered for its effects prior to reaching cyclone status rather than during its life as an officially named tropical cyclone. A multi-centred tropical low formed adjacent to the north Queensland tropical coast near Cooktown as early as 20 March within a very active monsoon trough that stretched across the northern Coral Sea and Cape York Peninsula toward New Caledonia, and initially had a subtropical appearance. Over the ensuing days, the northernmost circulation became dominant and moved east to the southeast of the equatorward ridge. By 21/1820 UTC it became the second named tropical cyclone of Queensland's and was named Grace. Grace moved toward the southeast at 15 to . This general motion was to continue for the remainder of the cyclone's life. Grace peaked in intensity at 985 hPa with maximum sustained winds of near 20.3S/155.9E at 22/0000 UTC. This intensity was maintained for approximately 6 hours. Thereafter, Grace began to undergo extratropical transition with an increasingly asymmetric wind field due to a squeeze with a surface ridge to the south. Grace rapidly lost its entire upper-level structure and was downgraded at 23/1800 UTC from tropical cyclone status when located approximately east-northeast of Sandy Cape (23.6S/162.3E). The remnant surface wind field of the system meandered to the east and then to the east-northeast over the following days, producing a very broad area of gales to its south through the Tasman Sea. The highest three-day rainfall amounts for Grace was 759 mm from Topaz, which received 372 mm in 24 hours. The strongest winds from the mainland were from Low Isle at 18/1311 UTC when gusts reached . Cape Moreton at 21 March 2004 2230 UTC received gusts to . Widespread flooding and damage to roads and property along the far north Queensland coast, mainly between Cooktown and Cairns. Winds and waves brought tide levels above the highest tides of the year and this was particularly evident at Cooktown. Floodwaters closed all major roads into Cairns. A large section of one lane of the Captain Cook Highway north of Cairns collapsed after a landslide consisting of nearly 20 metres of rock and boulders the size of cars destroyed the ocean-side road. The scenic coastal highway and link between Cairns and Port Douglas was closed for several days. Residents were evacuated from the Whitfield range area due to landslides. An estimated $20,000,000 (US) damage to the Cairns region is attributed to pre-cyclone Grace. There were no casualties associated with Tropical Cyclone Grace. In New Caledonia, further strong winds, heavy rains and flooding were experienced. A massive oil slick threatened a popular tourist beach in New Caledonia. Officials in the French Pacific territory put up barriers around the island of Amedee, which was threatened by a toxic oil slick, estimated to cover an area of 20 square kilometres. They said the oil had come from a boat wrecked several decades ago on a coral reef off South Province.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Oscar–Itseng

Formed on 21 March, moved out of the region on 27 March into South-West Indian Ocean region, renaming to Itseng.

Other systems

During 20 December, Tropical Disturbance 02F was last noted by the FMS, as it moved into the region from the South Pacific basin about to the northwest of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Tropical Disturbance 04F was first noted by the FMS within a broad area of low pressure during 29 December, while it was located on the border with the South Pacific basin, about to the south of Honiara in the Solomon Islands. The system was located in a moderate area of vertical windshear and was poorly organised with

atmospheric convection Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference layer in the atmosphere. Different lapse rates within dry and moist air masses lead to instability. Mixing of air during the day which expands the ...

confined to the system's eastern semicircle. The system subsequently moved south-eastwards and remained poorly organised, before it was last noted by the FMS later that day while it was located to the south of San Cristobal Island.

Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that have formed in the 2003–04 Australian region cyclone season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s)–denoted by bold location names – damages, and death totals. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 2004 AUD and USD. , - , Jana , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 3 severe tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - , Debbie , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 3 severe tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Papua New Guinia, Northern Territory , , None , , None , , , - , 02F , , , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Disturbance , , bgcolor=#, Not specified , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands , , None , , None , , , - , 04F , , , , bgcolor=#, Tropical Disturbance , , bgcolor=#, Not specified , , bgcolor=#, , , Solomon Islands , , None , , None , , , - , Ken , , , , bgcolor=#, Tropical low , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Western Australia , , None , , None , , , - , Linda , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 2 tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , , , , , , - , Fritz , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 2 tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Queensland, Northern Territory , , None , , None , , , - ,

Monty Monty is a masculine given name, often a short form of Montgomery, Montague and other similar names. It is also a surname. Notable people with the name or nickname include: First name Nickname * Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976), British Secon ...

, , , , bgcolor=#, Category 4 severe tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Western Australia , , Minor , , None , , , - , Evan , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 1 tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , , , Northern Australia , , , , , , , - , Nicky , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 2 tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , - ,

Fay A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

, , , , bgcolor=#, Category 5 severe tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Northern Territory, Western Australia , , Minimal , , None , , , - , Grace , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 2 tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , Queensland , , $ , , None , , , - , Oscar , , , , bgcolor=#, Category 4 severe tropical cyclone , , bgcolor=#, , , bgcolor=#, , , None , , None , , None , , , -

References

External links

Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Australian Region Cyclone Season Australian region cyclone seasons 2003 Aus 2004 Aus