Grant

History

Tropical Cyclone Grant developed from an area of persistent thunderstorms north-northeast of Darwin within an active monsoon trough between 21 and 23 December 2011, initially designated as Tropical Low 04U. The system organised rapidly, and was officially named in the early hours of Christmas morning, 25 December 2011. Reaching Category 2 intensity with maximum sustained winds of around 111 km/h and a minimum central pressure of 976 hPa, Grant made landfall on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory at approximately 9:00 PM local time that evening. It weakened to a tropical low the following day as it tracked south past Jabiru, then moved eastward across the Top End, crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria on 28 December and the northern Cape York Peninsula on 30 December before entering the Coral Sea.

Coastal wind damage was relatively minor, largely confined to downed trees and power disruptions in remote communities such as Minjilang on Croker Island. The storm's most significant impacts were caused by extreme inland rainfall, with 385 millimetres recorded at Edith River Falls in a single 24-hour period. The resulting river rise severely damaged the Edith River railway bridge north of Katherine, causing a 20-carriage freight train to derail, with carriages swept downstream and crew members requiring rescue, one with spinal injuries. The derailment also released approximately 1,200 tonnes of copper concentrate into the Edith River. Flash flooding severely damaged the Stuart Highway, cutting Darwin's main land connection to the rest of Australia for several days.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia