Severe Tropical Cyclone Trevor was a powerful and large tropical cyclone that caused major damages across

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 ...

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 ...

and

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_ ...

during March 2019. The twentieth tropical low, seventh tropical cyclone, and fourth severe tropical cyclone of the 2018-19 Australian region cyclone season, Trevor originated from a tropical low that formed to the east of

Meteorological history

A moderate to strong pulse of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) moved into the

Maritime Continent Maritime Continent is the name given primarily by meteorologists and oceanographers to the region of Southeast Asia which comprises, amongst other countries, Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. Located between the Indian and Pacific Ocean ...

during March 2019. This aided the formation of a weak monsoonal trough to the north of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, which would help any

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 ...

located in the area move southward toward the country. Although, the MJO soon weakened and no longer played an influence of tropical weather. This was due to other climate influences overshadowing the weakening MJO. Global forecasting models came into agreement that the MJO would continue to no longer be discernible over Trevor's lifespan. On March 11, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) noted that a

tropical low 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 ...

had formed over the

Solomon Sea The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of ...

near

. The

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

(JTWC) first issued a

Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming ...

(TCFA) at 1:30 UTC on March 15, while the disturbance was located roughly 270 miles east-northeast of

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. The agency noted that the system was growing a tightening low-level center and deep

convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...

. Within an area of moderate vertical wind shear and warm

sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mass ...

s, the low began to strengthen.

Preparations and impact

New Guinea

, a strong wind warning was put in effect for coastal areas between the Gulf of Papua and the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

. Due to the wet weather Trevor brought to

, the first day of the

2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier The 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier was the tournament played in Fiji and Philippines as part of qualification process for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Twelve regional qualifiers were held by the International Cricket Counc ...

had to be delayed. Trevor caused destruction across Goodenough Island. 591 residences were partially damaged, while 463 residences were fully damaged. A

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

was damaged by high winds, forcing classes to be cancelled for several weeks. On the island, 20% of gardens growing food were damaged by Trevor. The staff houses at a clinic in Yauyaula were mangled. In Kilia Ward, a church was destroyed by powerful winds. Fish ponds on the island were demolished by the cyclone.

Australia

As a precaution, roughly 1,400 people were forced to evacuate to shelters in rural parts of the

. This was the largest evacuation in the area since Cyclone Tracy in 1974. A state of emergency was issued for the territory on 21 March. The

Carpentaria Highway The Carpentaria Highway is a highway, which runs from near Daly Waters to Borroloola in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is a sealed road and is part of National Highway 1. The Highway takes its name from the Gulf of Carpentaria, which i ...

Roper Highway The Roper Highway is a road in the Northern Territory of Australia that begins from a point on the Stuart Highway 7 kilometres south of Mataranka, and runs east along the Roper River via Roper Bar to Ngukurr. Its length is 206 kilometres. From ...

, Barkly Stock Route, and the

Tablelands Highway The Tablelands Highway is a 375 kilometre single lane sealed road in the Northern Territory, Australia. It runs from Barkly Homestead on the Barkly Highway to Cape Crawford near Borroloola on the Carpentaria Highway. Upgrades The Northern Au ...

s were shut down. As the storm made landfall on 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 ...

, the entire town of Coen lost electricity while nearby Aurukun reported isolated power outages. The

Iron Range National Park Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) is a National Park located in Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane and east of Weipa in the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Within the National Park is the Iron Range (Lockhart River Resources Reserve), Scr ...

received extensive damage from the storm with numerous trees being flattened.

Retirement

Due to the impact in Northern Queensland caused by the storm, the name ''Trevor'' was retired and will never be used again for an Australian region tropical cyclone. It will be replaced by ''Trung'' upon the next list repeat.

References

External links

Australian Bureau of MeteorologyIndonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics
(in

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

)
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Official severe weather report on Severe Tropical Cyclone Veronica
-> {{DEFAULTSORT:Trevor 2018–19 Australian region cyclone season Category 4 Australian region cyclones T Retired Australian region cyclones