2016–17 Australian region cyclone season
The 2016–17 Australian region cyclone season, despite a very high number of tropical lows, was a slightly below-average season in terms of activity, with nine tropical cyclones, three of which intensified further into severe tropical cyclones; though it was much more active than the previous season. The season was the first to have a severe tropical cyclone since the 2014–15 season. It was the period of the year when most tropical cyclones form in the Southern Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans between 90°E and 160°E. The season officially ran from 1 November 2016 to 30 April 2017, however, a tropical cyclone could form at any time between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017 and would count towards the season total. The first named storm, Yvette, developed during 21 December, and the final named storm, Greg, left the region on 3 May as a remnant low. This season was also the second-costliest tropical cyclone season on record in the Australian region basin, behind only the 2010–11 season, with a total of AUD$3.7 billion (US$2.82 billion) in damages incurred by the various storms, mostly from Cyclone Debbie.
2016–17 Australian region cyclone season | |
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Season summary map | |
Seasonal boundaries | |
First system formed | 23 September 2016 |
Last system dissipated | 1 May 2017 |
Strongest storm | |
Name | Ernie |
• Maximum winds | 220 km/h (140 mph) (10-minute sustained) |
• Lowest pressure | 924 hPa (mbar) |
Seasonal statistics | |
Tropical lows | 30 |
Tropical cyclones | 9 |
Severe tropical cyclones | 3 |
Total fatalities | 16 total |
Total damage | $2.82 billion (2017 USD) (Second-costliest Australian region cyclone season recorded) |
Related articles | |
During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by one of the five Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) that operated in this region. Three of the five centres were operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) in Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane, while the other two were operated by the National Weather Service of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby and the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics in Jakarta, Indonesia. The United States' Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and other national meteorological services, including Météo-France, also monitored the basin during the season.