List of Category 5 Australian region severe tropical cyclones

Cyclone Marcus at peak intensity on 21 March 2018, over the Indian Ocean to the west of Australia.

Category 5 severe tropical cyclones are tropical cyclones that reach Category 5 intensity on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale within the Australian region. They are by definition the strongest tropical cyclones that can form on Earth. A total of 47 recorded tropical cyclones have peaked at Category 5 strength in the Australian region, which is denoted as the part of the Southern Hemisphere between 90°E and 160°E. The earliest tropical cyclone to be classified as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone was Pam which was classified as a Category 5 between February 3 – 5, 1974, as it moved through the Coral Sea. The latest system to be classified as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone was Veronica, which was classified during 21 March 2019 as it approached Western Australia.

Background[]

The Australian region tropical cyclone basin is located to the south of the Equator between 90°E and 160°E and is officially monitored by the Indonesian Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the Papua New Guinea National Weather Service.^[1] Other meteorological services such as New Zealand's MetService, Météo-France as well as the Fiji Meteorological Service and the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center monitor the basin.^[1] Within the basin a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone is a tropical cyclone that has 10-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds over 107 knots (198 km/h; 123 mph) or greater on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale.^[1][2] A named storm could also be classified as a Category 5 tropical cyclone if it is estimated, to have 1-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds over 137 knots (254 km/h; 158 mph) on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale.^[1][3] Within the basin this scale is not officially used, however, systems are commonly compared to the SSHWS using 1-minute sustained wind speeds from the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center.^[1][4][5] On both scales, a Category 5 tropical cyclone is expected to cause widespread devastation, if it significantly impacts land at or near its peak intensity.^[2][3]

Systems[]

Other systems[]

In addition to the 43 tropical cyclones listed above, three other tropical cyclones are considered by the BoM to have been a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone within the Australian region.^[71] These are Cyclone Mahina of 1899 and two tropical cyclones that struck Innisfail and Mackay during 1918.^[71] Severe tropical cyclone's Erica (2003) and Harold (2020) became Category 5 severe tropical cyclones, after they moved out of the Australian region and into the South Pacific basin.^{[72][citation needed]} became Severe Tropical Cyclones Fran (1992) and Beni (2003) were Category 5 severe tropical cyclones, before they moved into the Australian region from the South Pacific basin.^[73][74] Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului weakened into a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone, as it moved across 160°E into the Australian region.^[75]

The BoM estimates that Severe Tropical cyclones Viola–Claudette (1979), Jane–Irna (1992), Daryl–Agnielle (1995) and Bruce (2013) peaked as Category 5 severe tropical cyclones, after they had moved out of the Australian region and into the South-West Indian Ocean.^[76][77][78]

Impacts[]

Category 5 severe tropical cyclones are expected to cause widespread devastation if they significantly impact land.^[2][3]

See also[]

• List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes

References[]

External links[]

• World Meteorological Organization
• Australian Bureau of Meteorology
• Fiji Meteorological Service
• New Zealand MetService
• Joint Typhoon Warning Center