Cyclone Steve
| Category 3 severe tropical cyclone (Aus scale) | |
|---|---|
| Category 1 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Cyclone Steve on 7 March
|
|
| Formed | 27 February 2000 |
| Dissipated | 11 March 2000 |
| Highest winds |
10-minute sustained: 150 km/h (95 mph) 1-minute sustained: 120 km/h (75 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 975 hPa (mbar); 28.79 inHg |
| Fatalities | None recorded |
| Damage | $100 million (2000 AUD) |
| Areas affected | North Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia |
| Part of the 1999–00 Australian region cyclone season | |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Steve was a tropical cyclone that affected northern Australia from 27 February 2000 until 11 March 2000. Cyclone Steve was noted for its longevity and traversal of northern and western Australia. It impacted on regions of northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia before clearing to the south of the continent. Steve is the first known Australian cyclone to make four distinct landfalls in the country.
A tropical low formed in the Coral Sea to the east of Willis Island on 25 February 2000. The system rapidly intensified to become Tropical Cyclone Steve at around 7am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) (UTC+10) on the 27 February 2000. The cyclone crossed the Queensland coast as a Category 2 system on 27 February to the north of Cairns at around 7pm AEST. Steve weakened slowly over land and was downgraded to a tropical low on 28 February.
The low tracked westward and re-intensified to tropical cyclone strength over the Gulf of Carpentaria on the same day at around 10pm AEST. The cyclone passed over Mornington Island in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria and crossed the Northern Territory coast north of Port McArthur on 1 March as a Category 1. The cyclone weakened back to a tropical low again, but maintained a strong low to middle level circulation as it crossed the base of the Top End of the Northern Territory. The low moved just south of the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf into the Kimberley region of Western Australia and reformed once again into a tropical cyclone just west of Broome on 5 March at 1pm Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) (UTC+8).
...
Wikipedia