FRITZ

History

Tropical Cyclone Fritz began as a tropical low that formed on 10 February 2004 in the northern Coral Sea, embedded within an active monsoon trough. The system organised quickly, and was named Fritz while positioned to the northeast of Cooktown on the far north Queensland coast.

Moving briskly westward, Fritz had little time over water before reaching the coast. It crossed the northern Queensland coastline with winds of around 75 km/h — a marginal, weak system at landfall. Passage over the rugged terrain of Cape York Peninsula stripped Fritz of its tropical characteristics, and by 11 February the weakened circulation had emerged over the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Conditions in the Gulf proved favourable, and the low redeveloped as it tracked west across the warm waters. Fritz reached its peak intensity near Mornington Island with maximum winds of about 95 km/h. As the system passed over the island on 12 February, weather radar detected the signature of an eye, indicating a better-organised structure than during its Coral Sea phase. Fritz then moved onto the mainland Australian coast, where it steadily degenerated. The remnant low survived for a considerable distance overland, drifting across the Northern Territory and into Western Australia before eventually being absorbed into a cold front south of Perth.

Although the winds associated with Fritz were modest, its rainfall was significant on the Queensland tropical coast. Totals of up to 309 mm were recorded in the Cairns district, saturating steep coastal slopes and triggering several landslides. One of these caused serious damage to property at Yorkeys Knob, north of Cairns. Further south, flash flooding occurred in the vicinity of Innisfail after 74 mm of rain fell within a single hour. On Mornington Island, where Fritz was at its strongest, the effects were limited to a number of uprooted trees, with no other damage reported. No deaths or injuries were attributed to the cyclone.

Fritz was one of a modest group of tropical cyclones observed in the Australian region during the slightly below-average 2003–04 season.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia