JANE

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Jane formed as a tropical low near Indonesia on 2 January 1983, during the 1982–83 Australian region cyclone season. The system initially tracked southward, executing a brief loop over open water before turning onto a steady southeastward course toward the Australian mainland. As it approached the coast, Jane intensified rapidly, reaching Category 4 status on the Australian scale with a minimum central pressure of 947 hPa and sustained winds of 170 km/h.

Jane made landfall on the morning of 9 January 1983 near Pardoo on the Pilbara coast of Western Australia, approximately 100 kilometres northeast of Port Hedland. The cyclone then tracked inland into the Great Sandy Desert and dissipated by 10 January. Pardoo Station suffered catastrophic structural damage as the storm's core passed directly over the property, and significant livestock losses occurred due to storm surge and flooding along the coastline. Peripheral winds caused tree damage and unroofed buildings across Port Hedland, Goldsworthy, and Telfer. Heavy rainfall triggered minor to moderate flooding in the De Grey River Basin, and rough offshore conditions resulted in minor injuries to two workers aboard commercial drilling vessels. Despite the extensive damage to pastoral infrastructure and property, effective community warnings meant no fatalities were recorded. Jane is noted in Bureau of Meteorology records as the most intense cyclone to affect the western region during a season significantly suppressed by a major El Niño event.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia