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TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION SERVICE Prepared by Coastal Services Unit, Environmental Sciences Division

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TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION SERVICE Prepared by Coastal Services Unit, Environmental Sciences Division TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION SERVICE Prepared by Coastal Services Unit, Environmental Sciences Division Interim report on severe tropical cyclone Ingrid Issued April 2005. • Category 5 cyclone with wind gusts to 320 kilometres per hour near the centre. • Cyclone crossed the Queensland east coast as category 4, 57km south east of Lockhart River. • Estimated peak water level reached 4.0 metres above Australian height Datum (AHD) near Voaden Point (at the southern end of the Lockhart River Aboriginal Reserve). • Extensive environmental damage in vicinity of landfall location. • Cyclone recrossed Queensland west coast into Gulf of Carpentaria 70km south of Weipa. • Storm tide exceeded the Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) at Cooktown by 0.28m. • National Disaster Relief Funding activated by Queensland Emergency Services Minister. Figure 1 –Track of severe tropical cyclone Ingrid (based on Tropical Cyclone Advices from Bureau of Meteorology). Summary Severe tropical cyclone Ingrid formed in the Coral Sea some time around 14:00 (AEST) on Sunday 6 March 2005 after drifting eastwards across Cape York along a monsoon trough line extending through northern Australia. The first Tropical Cyclone Advice was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology in Brisbane at 15:56 (AEST) on Monday 7 March, at which time Ingrid had deepened into a Category 3 cyclone (on a scale of 1 to 5). The timing of the cyclone corresponded to high spring tides, at or near the Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT), along the east coast of Cape York Peninsula, between Cairns and Thursday Island. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) storm tide advisers reported to the Department of Emergency Services, State Disaster Coordination Centre at 13:00 (AEST) on Tuesday 8 March. 1 The EPA’s storm tide gauges at Cairns, Cooktown, Weipa and Karumba, and its wave recording buoys at Cairns and Weipa, were used to monitor water levels and increased wave conditions due to the presence of the tropical cyclone. Selected records from the period of monitoring are included in this report. The peak surge recorded on a tide gauge was 0.28m at Cooktown (about 310km south of where the cyclone crossed the coast) at 09:10 (AEST) on Wednesday 9 March, with the storm tide exceeding Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) by 0.24m. Interestingly, the Cooktown tide gauge also recorded a negative surge of 0.33m below predictions at 07:20 (AEST) on Thursday 10 March (see figure 7). Unfortunately, no instrumented water levels were obtained near the cyclone’s track. Figure 1 –Satellite image of tropical cyclone approaching Queensland coast. Courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC Cyclone activities for Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory According to Bureau of Meteorology tropical cyclone advices issued during the event, the cyclone moved in a general westerly direction (at speeds of between 6–22km/h) across Cape York Peninsula and into the Gulf of Carpentaria, before continuing on this path to move along the northern coastline of the Northern Territory. Ingrid was classed as a category 5 cyclone with a central pressure of 930hPa, and maximum wind gusts of 290km/h on 7–8 March (while in the Coral Sea). It had eased slightly to a category 4 cyclone when it made landfall at Voaden Point on the Queensland east coast approximately 57km south southeast of the Aboriginal community at Lockhart River sometime between 05:00 and 06:00 (AEST) on Tuesday 10 March 2005. At landfall, the central pressure of the cyclone was reported at 960hPa, and maximum wind gusts of 240km/h, however the cyclone was quite compact, with destructive winds extending only 50km from the cyclone centre. Ingrid then weakened to a category 1 cyclone as it moved across Cape York Peninsula before passing into the Gulf of Carpentaria, approximately 70km south of Weipa, near the Aboriginal community at Aurukun at 19:00 (AEST) on 10 March 2005. The cyclone then re-intensified as it continued west, out of Queensland and into the Northern Territory where it again strengthened into a category 5 cyclone with a central pressure of 925hPa, and maximum wind gusts of 320km/h. A summary of the tropical cyclone advices issued by the Bureau of Meteorology during the cyclone event in Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory is contained in Table 2. 2 Wave recording The Environmental Protection Agency operates a network of wave monitoring stations along the Queensland coastline. The stations at Cairns and Weipa recorded large waves during the passage of tropical cyclone Ingrid (see figures 4 and 5). The Cairns station has been operating since May 1975. The wave recording buoy is 1.7km north east of Double Island in 14.0m of water (reduced to Lowest Astronomical Tide). A peak significant wave height of 1.34m was recorded at 22:30 (AEST) on the 8 March 2005 (the 22nd highest significant wave height recorded at the site). The significant wave height is the average of the one- third highest waves in a 26.6 minute record and is a standard wave parameter. A peak maximum wave height of 2.80m was recorded at 00:00 (AEST) on 11 March 2005 (the 7th highest maximum wave height recorded at the site). Peak wave periods greater than 8 seconds were recorded between 17:30 (AEST) on 7 March and 08:00 (AEST) on 9 March 2005. During this period Ingrid moved from 390km northeast of the station to 350km north of the station. It was also a category 5 cyclone at this time, with winds to 290km/h. The Weipa station has been operating since December 1978. The wave recording buoy is 11km west of Lorim Point in 6.6m of water (reduced to Lowest Astronomical Tide). A peak significant wave height of 1.74m was recorded at 19:00 (AEST) on the 10 March 2005 (the 46th highest significant wave height recorded at the site). A peak maximum wave height of 2.89m was recorded also at 19:00 (AEST) on 10 March 2005 (the 47th highest maximum wave height recorded at the site). Peak wave periods were less than 8 seconds as the cyclone moved across the Gulf of Carpentaria towards the Northern Territory. Storm tide recording The EPA storm tide system (comprising 21 storm tide gauges along the Queensland coastline) allows real-time access to storm tide data via the public telephone network during cyclone events. Water level data were obtained from the EPA storm tide gauges at Cairns, Cooktown, Weipa and Karumba (Figures 6–9). Table 1 summarises the peak surge and peak storm tide recordings from these sites. As noted above, at Cooktown, a positive storm surge of 0.28m was recorded at 09:10 (AEST) on 9 March when the cyclone was about 220km to the north (and 210km from its landfall site), while at Weipa, a positive storm surge of 0.25m was recorded at 21:30 (AEST) on 10 March when the cyclone was in the Gulf of Carpentaria, about 61km southwest of the tide gauge. While the storm tide exceeded Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) at Cooktown, the storm tide at Weipa was about 0.7m below HAT. The timing of the sea-to-land crossing of the cyclone corresponded to about two hours past low tide, based on predictions from Night Island (near Lockhart River). The land-to-sea crossing was about two hours past high tide, based on predictions from Archer River (near Aurukun). Tides at Cairns and Karumba appear to have been unaffected by the cyclone. Where the cyclone crossed the east coast, it is estimated that the storm surge was less than two metres. From the preliminary inspection of debris lines in the area, a total water level of 4.0m above AHD was estimated. This water level would have included surge, wave set-up and wave run-up. 3 Figure 3 shows the typical surface wind pattern at a height of 10m produced by tropical cyclone Ingrid as obtained by NASA/JPL’s SeaWinds Scatterometer aboard the QuikSCAT satellite on 9 March 2005. This also identifies the compact nature of the cyclone, as the intense onshore winds are not apparent in this image. This also helps to explain why the effects of the storm surge were confined to a relatively small stretch of the coastline. Tide station Time & date (AEST) Storm surge1 Storm tide2 HAT3 recorded (metres) (AHD4) (AHD) Cooktowna 09:10 9 March 2005 0.28 1.89 1.65 Weipaa 21:30 10 March 2005 0.25 0.24 1.63 Table 1 - Summary of storm surge events during tropical cyclone Ingrid 1 The storm surge represents the rise (or fall) in the level of the sea above (or below) predictions caused by a combination of wind strength, reduced atmospheric pressure. 2 The storm tide represents the actual water level recorded for a particular site during the event and is a combination of the astronomical tide and the storm surge. (and in some cases freshwater runoff). 3 The Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) refers to the highest tide level predicted to occur under average meteorological conditions, and any combination of astronomical conditions. These levels will not necessarily be reached every year. The HAT values quoted here were obtained from the 2005 Queensland Tide Tables. 4 Australian Height Datum (AHD) is the datum adopted by the National Mapping Council of Australia as the datum to which all vertical control for mapping is to be referred. AHD is approximately mean sea level (MSL). a This table reports the peak water levels achieved during the storm tide event and the storm surge associated with these peak levels. At Cooktown the recorded water levels were slightly higher just before the event with a measured level of 1.93m (AHD) at 08:20 9 March 2005.
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