Tropical Cyclone Tasha (2010)

Tropical Cyclone Tasha

Category 1 tropical cyclone (Aus scale)
Tropical storm (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Cyclone Tasha several hours after moving inland on 25 December
Formed	24 December 2010
Dissipated	25 December 2010
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 75 km/h (45 mph) 1-minute sustained: 75 km/h (45 mph)
Lowest pressure	993 hPa (mbar); 29.32 inHg
Fatalities	1
Damage	Unknown
Areas affected	Queensland and New South Wales
Part of the 2010–11 Australian region cyclone season

Tropical Cyclone Tasha was a short-lived, but devastating tropical cyclone that exacerbated widespread floods in Queensland, Australia during the 2010 Christmas holiday.

Tropical Cyclone Tasha was first identified on 24 December 2010 by the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) as a weak area of low pressure accompanied by increasing deep convection. At the surface, the structure of the storm's circulation was uncertain as feeder bands provided a clear indication of its centre; however, the lack of westerly winds at the surface refuted this. Situated roughly 370 kilometres (230 mi) east-northeast of Cairns, Queensland, favourable environmental conditions, such as low wind shear, would allow for further development of the low. Later on 24 December, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) classified the system as a tropical low. Shortly thereafter, the system rapidly consolidated as deep convection formed around a well-defined low-level circulation. This prompted the JTWC to issue a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert as they anticipated the system to intensify into a tropical cyclone within the following 24 hours. At 16:00 UTC, the BOM upgraded the low to a Category 1 cyclone, assigning with the name Tasha.

Within hours of the BoM declaring Tasha a tropical cyclone, the JTWC followed suit and issued their first advisory on the storm, designating it as Tropical Cyclone 04P. Situated along the northwestern edge of a subtropical ridge, Tasha tracked southwestward towards Queensland, Australia and intensified. The storm attained its peak intensity on 24 December with winds of 75 km/h (45 mph) and a barometric pressure of 993 mbar (hPa; 29.32 inHg). Hours later, the centre of Tasha made landfall between Cairns and Innisfail at this intensity. Later that day, the BOM issued their final advisory on Tasha as it weakened to a tropical low over Queensland; the JTWC followed suit shortly thereafter. The remnants of Tasha persisted in the region for several more days, bringing heavy rains to much of Queensland.