FAY

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Fay developed from a low-pressure system that originated in the Gulf of Carpentaria on 12 March 2004. The system crossed Melville and Bathurst Islands before moving into the Timor Sea, where it was officially named Fay by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Tracking south and southwest, Fay reached Category 5 intensity on 21 March on the Australian Region scale, with a minimum central pressure of 910 hPa and peak sustained winds of 210 km/h, making it the only Category 5 cyclone of the 2003–04 season. The system underwent fluctuations in intensity, weakening to Category 2 before re-intensifying, and made landfall on the Pilbara coast between 8 and 9 am AWST on 27 March as a Category 4 cyclone with winds of 170 km/h.

No fatalities were recorded, but the cyclone's impacts were considerable. Minor structural and tree damage occurred around Port Hedland, while Nullagine experienced significant flooding that split the town into four sections. Around 200 workers at the Yarrie mine endured an eight-hour lockdown as the cyclone caused infrastructure damage. Exceptionally heavy rainfall was a defining feature, with the Nifty Copper Mine recording 701 mm over two days and Telfer receiving rainfall exceeding 100-year records. Combined with earlier flooding from Cyclone Monty, the event drove Australian gold output to its lowest level in a decade. Scott Reef also sustained severe coral damage. The Bureau of Meteorology subsequently retired the name Fay.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia