FREDERIC

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Frederic developed during the 1998–99 Australian region cyclone season, forming as a broad tropical low within an active monsoon trough off the north Kimberley coast of Western Australia on 25 March 1999. It was the third tropical cyclone to develop in that general area within a two-week period, reflecting an unusually active stretch for northwestern Australia. The system was named Frederic by the Bureau of Meteorology in Perth after organising sufficiently on 27 March.

Tracking west-southwest into the open Indian Ocean, Frederic intensified steadily under favourable atmospheric conditions. A well-defined eye became visible on satellite imagery on 29 March as the storm reached its peak intensity as a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone, with 10-minute sustained winds of approximately 175 km/h and a minimum central pressure near 935 hPa. The system spent its entire lifecycle over open water, never threatening the Australian coast. On 1 April it crossed the 90°E meridian into the South-West Indian Ocean basin, entering La Réunion's area of responsibility, where increasing wind shear and cooler sea surface temperatures caused it to weaken and eventually dissipate.

No casualties or structural damage were reported as a result of Frederic. The principal operational disruption was to maritime traffic along the North West Shelf, with vessels rerouted to avoid the storm's extensive wind field and heavy swells.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia