Cyclone Fletcher

Tropical Low Fletcher

Category 1 tropical cyclone (Aus scale)
Cyclone Fletcher near peak intensity on 3 February
Formed	30 January 2014
Dissipated	12 February 2014
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 65 km/h (40 mph) Gusts: 95 km/h (60 mph)
Lowest pressure	992 hPa (mbar); 29.29 inHg
Fatalities	None
Damage	None
Areas affected	Northern Territory, Queensland
Part of the 2013–14 Australian region cyclone season

Tropical Low Fletcher was a weak tropical cyclone that produced torrential rains over parts of Queensland, Australia in February 2014. Originating as tropical low over the Timor Sea on 30 January, Fletcher quickly became an organized system as it moved over the Top End region of the Northern Territory. Once over the Gulf of Carpentaria on 2 February, deep convection formed near its center and the following day it became a tropical cyclone. With peak winds estimated at 65 km/h (40 mph), the storm made landfall in Queensland before weakening to a low. Over the following week, the system's movement became slow and erratic. Executing three loops, the former cyclone meandered over the southeastern Gulf of Carpentaria before accelerating southwest and later west. Fletcher was last noted on 12 February over the Alice Springs District in the Northern Territory.

Cyclone Fletcher was first identified as a tropical low on 30 January 2014 over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf in the Timor Sea. Tracking generally eastward, the well-organized system moved over the Top End region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Westerly monsoonal flow from the north promoted a steady east-southeast track, Early on 2 February, the low emerged over the Gulf of Carpentaria near the Northern Territory–Queensland border. Moderate to strong wind shear produced by an upper-level low to the south initially inhibited development, keeping convective activity limited to isolated bursts around an exposed low-level circulation. Throughout 2 February, environmental conditions quickly turned more favorable for tropical cyclogenesis, with a newly formed anticyclone over the low lessening shear. As a result, convection steadily increased in coverage and organization despite the system's proximity to land. Improved radar presentation and surface observations of near-gale winds prompted the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to upgrade the system to a tropical cyclone early on 3 February; coincidingly, they assigned the name Fletcher to the storm. At this time, the center of the small storm was located a few dozen kilometres north of Karumba, Queensland. The BOM estimated sustained winds to be 65 km/ (40 mph) and the barometric pressure at 992 mbar (hPa; 29.29 inHg); this became Fletcher's peak intensity.