CLAUDIA

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Claudia originated from an area of convection that developed approximately 1,020 km east-southeast of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 9 February 2002. The system remained relatively inactive until 11 February, when it began to organise rapidly. TCWC Brisbane classified it as a tropical low around 990 km east of Townsville, Queensland, before upgrading it to Tropical Cyclone Claudia shortly afterward. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center simultaneously designated the storm Tropical Cyclone 14P and later raised its peak winds to 120 km/h. The system went on to reach severe tropical cyclone status, making it one of the more significant storms of the 2001–02 Australian region cyclone season, which was otherwise considered slightly below average overall. Claudia developed in the southwestern Pacific portion of the Australian region, an area monitored by TCWC Brisbane. The season itself ran officially from 1 November 2001 to 30 April 2002, though several systems formed outside those dates. Claudia was among a number of notable cyclones that season, which also included Severe Tropical Cyclone Chris, which struck near Port Hedland in early February, and Tropical Cyclone Bernie, which caused storm surge damage along the Gulf of Carpentaria coast in early January.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia