Severe Tropical Cyclone Monica aftermath

[Supercell Hunters]

Hello Americans, I brought up reports from STC Monica in BOM Australia weather. This cyclone seems the world's strongest storm on record



Sustained winds with very destructive gusts caused extensive defoliation and felling of trees in a 30-40km wide area west of Maningrida. A dozen houses and a school in Maningrida were unroofed or extensively damaged. Houses were damaged and power lines downed by falling trees in Milingimbi, Oenpelli, Jabiru and Elcho Island. Power lines were also damaged in Yirrkala, Ramingining, Goulburn Island and other smaller communities and outstations.

Flood waters cut the Arnhem Highway at the Adelaide River and Cox Peninsula Road at Berry Creek. The town bore at Oenpelli was covered with flood water, cutting off the town water supply.

Very heavy rainfall (>100mm) was recorded in parts of the western Arnhem District on 23 and 24 April, in the Darwin-Daly District on 24 and 25 April, and in the Victoria River District on 26 April.

TC Monica was the strongest tropical cyclone on record to affect the Northern Territory. Monica's estimated maximum intensity was stronger than TC Tracy in 1974, TC Neville in 1992 and TC Ingrid in 2005. Monica was an unusual late season tropical cyclone and was the first cyclone to affect the NT area of responsibility in the 2005/06 season.

Coastal Crossing Details
Crossing time: 8pm Monday 24 April 2006
Crossing location: Junction Bay
37km WNW of Maningrida
Category when crossing the coast: 5

Extreme values during cyclone event (estimated)
Note that these values may be changed on the receipt of later information
Maximum Category: 5
Maximum sustained wind speed: 250 km/h
Maximum wind gust: 350 km/h
Lowest central pressure: 905 hPa

350km/hr winds!

[Audrey2Katrina]

Hello Americans, I brought up reports from STC Monica in BOM Australia weather. This cyclone seems the world's strongest storm on record

I assume that you're speaking about Cyclones, as they are called in that section of the world. I don't know much about the "records" of such storms, but am willing to learn. Indeed Monica was a huge storm, but with all due respect, unless there's more information coming, based on these numbers, she is by no means the world's strongest "storm" on record. The max sustained winds of 250km/h (150 mph) while incredibly powerful, have certainly been exceeded by many Pacific typhoons and even more than a few Atlantic hurricanes. This detracts nothing from the fact that Monica was extremely powerful...and unusual in that this event occured rather late in the season for that area of the world. Keep us posted on any final death/damage tolls and certainly my prayers and wishes for the best go out to any/all in her path.

A2K

[Supercell Hunters]

Actually that is sustained winds speed, 350km/hr wind gust which is for record.

[Audrey2Katrina]

Actually that is sustained winds speed, 350km/hr wind gust which is for record.

Okay, I'm certainly no pro-met, so I won't dispute your point; but I'd still be willing to wager that wind gusts over 210 mph have also been recorded in the other basins. But hey, what does it matter? It WAS a monster!

A2K

[Supercell Hunters]

Here the satelite of STC Monica nearing NT.




Looks like a world's fattest cyclone to me

[Audrey2Katrina]

Looks like a world's fattest cyclone to me

LOL, are we now classifying strength of storms by their "fatness"? Anyway, that IS an impressive image of a huge storm. Be interesting to superimpose it over something like Typhoon Tip, or Hurricane Carla... two "huge" storms from other basins.

A2K

[Supercell Hunters]

On NBN news (channel nine), they recorded the videos of Monica and i saw the wind seems so strong ever i seen in my life. Very intense mircobursts like three times worst than any HP supercells or tornado storms. I saw one tree is about a same size of station wagon, it flew up in the air like a tornado picking up. Other tree like 20m wide and 50m tall blew down as the people saying whoaaa!!!!! HEHE LOL

I still waiting for reports and more photos in soon.

[HurricaneBill]

Looks like a world's fattest cyclone to me

Shame on you! Didn't anyone ever tell you not to call a woman fat? Even if she is a powerful tropical cyclone?

[Supercell Hunters]

I don't mind the ladies anyway, i meant by the size of the storm She is powerful

[TSmith274]

Were there any casualties? I hope not. And, is this a sparsely populated area?

It's funny... I can't get used to that picture... IT's SPINNING THE WRONG WAY!! What an odd phenomenon.

[Extremeweatherguy]

wait a second? How do they KNOW for sure that gusts were at 350 km/hr (210mph)? So far I have not heard or seen any damage reports of winds that high, and also...in Australia, they don't fly planes into the storms do they? It seems like this estimate of 210mph gusts is a little high. Also...this same storm in the Atlantic would be classified as a Cat. 4 storm (since sustained winds are below 156mph). This type of storm has been topped many times in the Atlantic and Pacific, and gusts over 210mph are not uncommon with Atlantic Cat. 5 Hurricanes. One instance I can remember is last year, when either Katrina, Rita or Wilma (or all three) had a period of sustained winds of 175mph and gusts to 215mph. Monica may have been significant for Australia, but on a world-wide level she really was not.

[Supercell Hunters]

Not sure about that, reports still not up yet but TC Larry (before Monica helds up) was the strongest storm atm with winds around 320km/hr gusts.

[dwsqos2]

In reference to the 250 km/h sustained winds, one must
remember that this value represents a 10-minute wind.
Thus, by applying the ratio of 10-minute to 1-minute winds
given by the BOM as .871 to this value , one obtains a
1-minute sustained wind of 288 km/h or around 180 mph,
just an observation frequently noted in Talkin' Tropics topics.
Applying a standard over-water gust ratio yields the
estimated peak gust value of 350 km/h. These values could
of course be revised in post-analysis. And, as an additional
caveat, such values in that basin are usually estimated;
thus, these values might be inaccurate.

Additionally, several tropical cyclones are listed in their best
track files as having sustained winds of 190 mph, so officially,
and in the interest of avoiding credibility of peak intensity
debates, Monica was not the strongest tropical cyclone of the
past 150 or so years; nonetheless, Monica was an extremely
intense cyclone and severely impacted such communities
as the aforementioned Maningrinda.

[Supercell Hunters]

Correct