CAROL
1975-76 season · AU197576_16U
History
Tropical Cyclone Carol was an unusually late-season system that developed in the northern Coral Sea in early May 1976. Its origins lay in an out-of-season monsoonal low that formed east of Cape York on 3 May. Drifting southward over warm waters with high oceanic heat content, the low became steadily better organised and was classified as a tropical cyclone on 4 May, receiving the name Carol from the Bureau of Meteorology's tropical cyclone warning centre in Brisbane.
Steered southward by a ridge of high pressure to its east, Carol tracked roughly parallel to the Great Barrier Reef and well clear of the Queensland coast. Intensification was rapid on 5 May, and the system reached severe tropical cyclone status, peaking at Category 3 on the Australian scale. Its minimum central pressure of around 960 hPa was recorded while the cyclone was positioned approximately 300 km east of the Townsville–Mackay stretch of coast. Maximum sustained winds near the centre were estimated at about 130–140 km/h, with gusts over open water exceeding 185 km/h.
Continuing south into higher latitudes off the Capricorn Coast on 8 and 9 May, Carol ran into strong upper-level westerly shear and the cooler sea surface temperatures typical of late autumn. The inner core broke down and the system transitioned into a broad extratropical low late on 8 May, before dissipating over the central Tasman Sea on 9 May. At no stage did Carol make landfall.
Because the cyclone remained offshore for its entire life, mainland impacts were minor. Its outer circulation generated heavy swell, rough surf and scattered squally rainbands along exposed beaches between the Whitsundays and Fraser Island (K'gari), but the destructive core winds stayed at sea. Marine storm warnings were issued for Coral Sea shipping lanes, and fishing fleets and coastal vessels took shelter in protected ports and reef anchorages. No deaths, injuries or structural damage on land were reported. Carol marked the close of an active 1975–76 Australian region season.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (48 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-05-03 00:00:00 | 1 | -7.3, 92.0 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1976-05-03 03:00:00 | 1 | -7.6, 92.0 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1976-05-03 06:00:00 | 1 | -7.8, 92.0 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-03 09:00:00 | 1 | -8.1, 92.0 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-03 12:00:00 | 1 | -8.4, 92.0 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-03 15:00:00 | 1 | -8.7, 92.0 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-03 18:00:00 | 1 | -9.0, 91.9 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-03 21:00:00 | 1 | -9.3, 91.8 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 00:00:00 | 1 | -9.5, 91.7 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 03:00:00 | 1 | -9.8, 91.6 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 06:00:00 | 1 | -10.1, 91.5 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 09:00:00 | 1 | -10.3, 91.4 | 1000 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 12:00:00 | 1 | -10.4, 91.1 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 15:00:00 | 1 | -10.6, 90.8 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 18:00:00 | 1 | -10.7, 90.6 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-04 21:00:00 | 1 | -11.0, 90.4 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 00:00:00 | 1 | -11.2, 90.1 | 995 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 03:00:00 | 1 | -11.4, 89.9 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 06:00:00 | 1 | -11.6, 89.8 | 993 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 09:00:00 | 1 | -12.1, 89.7 | 991 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.5, 89.7 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 15:00:00 | 1 | -12.8, 89.7 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.2, 89.7 | 992 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1976-05-05 21:00:00 | 1 | -13.5, 89.7 | 992 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.8, 89.8 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 03:00:00 | 1 | -14.1, 89.8 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 06:00:00 | 1 | -14.4, 89.8 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 09:00:00 | 1 | -14.6, 89.9 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 12:00:00 | 1 | -14.8, 89.9 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 15:00:00 | 1 | -15.1, 89.9 | 1001 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 18:00:00 | 1 | -15.4, 90.0 | 1001 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-06 21:00:00 | 1 | -15.6, 90.0 | 1001 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1976-05-07 00:00:00 | 1 | -15.7, 90.0 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-07 03:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 90.0 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-07 06:00:00 | 1 | -16.3, 90.0 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-07 12:00:00 | 1 | -16.6, 90.0 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-07 15:00:00 | 1 | -16.8, 90.0 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-07 18:00:00 | 1 | -17.0, 90.0 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-07 21:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 90.0 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 00:00:00 | 1 | -17.4, 90.0 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 03:00:00 | 1 | -17.7, 90.0 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 06:00:00 | 1 | -18.2, 89.9 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 09:00:00 | 1 | -18.5, 89.6 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 12:00:00 | 1 | -18.6, 89.2 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 15:00:00 | 1 | -18.4, 88.7 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 18:00:00 | 1 | -18.4, 88.7 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-08 21:00:00 | 1 | -18.0, 88.0 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1976-05-09 00:00:00 | 1 | -18.0, 87.5 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |