Severe Tropical Cyclone Vance was a tropical cyclone that struck Western Australia during the active 1998–99 Australian region cyclone season, and was also one of six tropical cyclones to form off the coast of Australia during that season. When making landfall the Learmonth Meteorological Office (35 km south of Exmouth) recorded the highest Australian wind gust of 267 km/h (166 mph).[1] The previous highest gust was 259 km/h (161 mph) at nearby Mardie during Cyclone Trixie.[2] This record was surpassed in 2010 after a world record wind-gust of 408 km/h (254 mph) at Barrow Island during Cyclone Olivia in 1996 was declared official by the World Meteorological Organisation.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Vance
Vance nearing Western Australia at peak intensity on 20 March
Forming on 19 March 1999, in the Timor Sea, Vance then curved west-southwest where it recurved and struck the Gascoyne and Pilbara coasts of Western Australia on 22 March as a Category 5 cyclone on the Australian scale and dissipating the following day.
Vance caused severe damage across the western coast of Australia. The hardest hit town was Exmouth where 70 percent of the buildings sustained severe damage. However, because of advance warnings there were no reports of fatalities.[2] Damage totaled AU 100,000,000 (1999 USD).[3]
An area of low pressure formed on 16 March, six hundred miles northwest of Darwin, Australia. The storm then quickly reached tropical depression strength as it curved over the Northern Territory causing no damage.[4] On 18 March, the tropical depression intensified and became Tropical Storm Vance 523 km (325 mi) west of Darwin.
Interacting with a subtropical ridge, the storm moved westward and then southwestward where it reached Category 1 cyclone status on the 19th. The cyclone then continued southwestward, strengthening to a Category 5 storm overnight on 20 March with gusts of more than 280 km/h (170 mph) winds. Vance reached a pressure of 910 millibars (hPa) before curving to the south, heading towards the Exmouth Gulf.[1]
Vance then made landfall near Exmouth on 22 March as a strong Category 4 cyclone. Moving inland, the cyclone then turned a more south-southeasterly direction as before weakening to tropical storm status. Vance then became extratropical the next day, with its extratropical remnants producing gale force winds that affected South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.[4][5]
Preparationsedit
Hundreds of people evacuated and authorities closed several roads. In addition, forecasters issued a red alert for the towns of Karratha, Onslow and Exmouth as the cyclone was predicted to bring strong damaging winds to that area while the areas south of the red alert warning area were put under a yellow alert or tropical storm warning. On the 22nd, forecasters predicted that Vance would make landfall between Onslow and Exmouth.[3][6]
The Learmonth Meteorological Office recorded a record gust of 267 km/h (166 mph) and a pressure of 937 millibars. At Onslow, a weather station reported winds gusting to 182 km/h (113 mph) and a barometric pressure of 978 millibars. A storm surge of 3.6 metres (12 feet) was reported in Exmouth. The surge caused severe beach erosion and sunk or damaged several barges. Wind damage in Exmouth was severe, as the storm destroyed over 110 homes and damaged over 220 others. In Onslow, the storm surge flooded several houses. Vance dropped 100–150 mm (3.9–5.9 in) of rain over Western Australia. Some areas in the storm's impact reported rainfall totals of 200–300 mm (7.9–11.8 in). The heavy rain brought by Vance caused severe flash-flooding that knocked out power and communications. Elsewhere, floodwaters washed out several roads and affected areas already impacted by Cyclone Elaine days earlier. The remnants of Vance produced gale-force winds that caused a dust storm that struck Adelaide for several hours with visibility down to a few meters, and knocked down powerlines in Melbourne, leaving 50,000 people without power.[2][5][6]
Referencesedit
^ abBureau of Meteorology Tropical Cyclone Vance in Review. March 2000. URL Accessed: 30 December 2006
^ abNCDC (1999) NCDC Impact Report 2006-06-21 at the Wayback Machine URL Accessed: 21 July 2006
^ abUnisys Track of Vance URL Accessed: 19 July 2006
^ abGary Padgett report on Vance 2006-06-29 at the Wayback Machine URL Accessed: 19 July 2006
^ abSmith, Carl "A Tale of Two Cyclones URL Accessed: 21 July 2006
^"Australian Tropical Cyclone Database" (CSV). Australian Bureau of Meteorology. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023. A guide on how to read the database is available here.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cyclone Vance.
January 01, 1970
cyclone, vance, severe, tropical, tropical, cyclone, that, struck, western, australia, during, active, 1998, australian, region, cyclone, season, also, tropical, cyclones, form, coast, australia, during, that, season, when, making, landfall, learmonth, meteoro. Severe Tropical Cyclone Vance was a tropical cyclone that struck Western Australia during the active 1998 99 Australian region cyclone season and was also one of six tropical cyclones to form off the coast of Australia during that season When making landfall the Learmonth Meteorological Office 35 km south of Exmouth recorded the highest Australian wind gust of 267 km h 166 mph 1 The previous highest gust was 259 km h 161 mph at nearby Mardie during Cyclone Trixie 2 This record was surpassed in 2010 after a world record wind gust of 408 km h 254 mph at Barrow Island during Cyclone Olivia in 1996 was declared official by the World Meteorological Organisation Severe Tropical Cyclone Vance Vance nearing Western Australia at peak intensity on 20 MarchMeteorological historyFormed16 March 1999Extratropical23 March 1999Dissipated23 March 1999Category 5 severe tropical cyclone10 minute sustained BOM Highest winds220 km h 140 mph Lowest pressure910 hPa mbar 26 87 inHgCategory 4 equivalent tropical cyclone1 minute sustained SSHWS JTWC Highest winds230 km h 145 mph Overall effectsFatalitiesNoneDamage 100 million 1999 USD Areas affectedNorthern TerritoryWestern AustraliaSouth AustraliaVictoriaTasmaniaIBTrACSPart of the 1998 99 Australian region cyclone season Forming on 19 March 1999 in the Timor Sea Vance then curved west southwest where it recurved and struck the Gascoyne and Pilbara coasts of Western Australia on 22 March as a Category 5 cyclone on the Australian scale and dissipating the following day Vance caused severe damage across the western coast of Australia The hardest hit town was Exmouth where 70 percent of the buildings sustained severe damage However because of advance warnings there were no reports of fatalities 2 Damage totaled AU 100 000 000 1999 USD 3 Contents 1 Meteorological history 2 Preparations 3 Impact 4 References 5 External linksMeteorological history edit nbsp Map plotting the storm s track and intensity according to the Saffir Simpson scaleMap keySaffir Simpson scale Tropical depression 38 mph 62 km h Tropical storm 39 73 mph 63 118 km h Category 1 74 95 mph 119 153 km h Category 2 96 110 mph 154 177 km h Category 3 111 129 mph 178 208 km h Category 4 130 156 mph 209 251 km h Category 5 157 mph 252 km h Unknown Storm type nbsp Tropical cyclone nbsp Subtropical cyclone nbsp Extratropical cyclone remnant low tropical disturbance or monsoon depression An area of low pressure formed on 16 March six hundred miles northwest of Darwin Australia The storm then quickly reached tropical depression strength as it curved over the Northern Territory causing no damage 4 On 18 March the tropical depression intensified and became Tropical Storm Vance 523 km 325 mi west of Darwin Interacting with a subtropical ridge the storm moved westward and then southwestward where it reached Category 1 cyclone status on the 19th The cyclone then continued southwestward strengthening to a Category 5 storm overnight on 20 March with gusts of more than 280 km h 170 mph winds Vance reached a pressure of 910 millibars hPa before curving to the south heading towards the Exmouth Gulf 1 Vance then made landfall near Exmouth on 22 March as a strong Category 4 cyclone Moving inland the cyclone then turned a more south southeasterly direction as before weakening to tropical storm status Vance then became extratropical the next day with its extratropical remnants producing gale force winds that affected South Australia Victoria and Tasmania 4 5 Preparations editHundreds of people evacuated and authorities closed several roads In addition forecasters issued a red alert for the towns of Karratha Onslow and Exmouth as the cyclone was predicted to bring strong damaging winds to that area while the areas south of the red alert warning area were put under a yellow alert or tropical storm warning On the 22nd forecasters predicted that Vance would make landfall between Onslow and Exmouth 3 6 Impact editMost intense Australian cyclones Rank Cyclone Year Min pressure 1 Gwenda 1999 900 hPa 26 58 inHg Inigo 2003 3 George 2007 902 hPa 26 64 inHg 4 Orson 1989 905 hPa 26 72 inHg Marcus 2018 6 Theodore 1994 910 hPa 26 87 inHg Vance 1999 Fay 2004 Glenda 2006 Source Australian Bureau of Meteorology 7 The Learmonth Meteorological Office recorded a record gust of 267 km h 166 mph and a pressure of 937 millibars At Onslow a weather station reported winds gusting to 182 km h 113 mph and a barometric pressure of 978 millibars A storm surge of 3 6 metres 12 feet was reported in Exmouth The surge caused severe beach erosion and sunk or damaged several barges Wind damage in Exmouth was severe as the storm destroyed over 110 homes and damaged over 220 others In Onslow the storm surge flooded several houses Vance dropped 100 150 mm 3 9 5 9 in of rain over Western Australia Some areas in the storm s impact reported rainfall totals of 200 300 mm 7 9 11 8 in The heavy rain brought by Vance caused severe flash flooding that knocked out power and communications Elsewhere floodwaters washed out several roads and affected areas already impacted by Cyclone Elaine days earlier The remnants of Vance produced gale force winds that caused a dust storm that struck Adelaide for several hours with visibility down to a few meters and knocked down powerlines in Melbourne leaving 50 000 people without power 2 5 6 References edit a b Bureau of Meteorology Tropical Cyclone Vance in Review March 2000 URL Accessed 30 December 2006 a b c Bureau of Meteorology BoM Report on Vance March 2000 URL Accessed 19 July 2006 a b NCDC 1999 NCDC Impact Report Archived 2006 06 21 at the Wayback Machine URL Accessed 21 July 2006 a b Unisys Track of Vance URL Accessed 19 July 2006 a b Gary Padgett report on Vance Archived 2006 06 29 at the Wayback Machine URL Accessed 19 July 2006 a b Smith Carl A Tale of Two Cyclones URL Accessed 21 July 2006 Australian Tropical Cyclone Database CSV Australian Bureau of Meteorology 30 June 2023 Retrieved 30 June 2023 A guide on how to read the database is available here External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cyclone Vance Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cyclone Vance amp oldid 1198902772, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
