2020–21 Australian region cyclone season
The 2020–21 Australian region cyclone season was a below average but very deadly season when most tropical cyclones formed in the Southern Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans between 90°E and 160°E. It produced 8 tropical cyclones with 3 strengthening into severe tropical cyclones. However, it featured the region's third-deadliest cyclone on record—Cyclone Seroja, which brought severe floods and landslides to southern Indonesia and East Timor. The season officially began on 1 November 2020 and started with the formation of Tropical Low 01U on 24 November within the basin, which would later become Tropical Storm Bongoyo in the South-West Indian Ocean, and ended with the dissipation of a tropical low on 24 April, 6 days before the season ended on 30 April. However, a tropical cyclone could form at any time between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 and would count towards the season total. During the season, tropical cyclones were officially monitored by one of the three tropical cyclone warning centres (TCWCs) for the region which are operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, National Weather Service of Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and other national meteorological services including Météo-France also monitored the basin during the season.
2020–21 Australian region cyclone season | |
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Season summary map | |
Seasonal boundaries | |
First system formed | 24 November 2020 |
Last system dissipated | 12 April 2021 |
Strongest storm | |
Name | Niran |
• Maximum winds | 205 km/h (125 mph) (10-minute sustained) |
• Lowest pressure | 931 hPa (mbar) |
Seasonal statistics | |
Tropical lows | 19 |
Tropical cyclones | 8 |
Severe tropical cyclones | 3 |
Total fatalities | 272 total (Second-deadliest Australian region cyclone season on record) |
Total damage | $518.7 million (2020 USD) |
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