Jasmine

History

Tropical Cyclone Jasmine developed from a tropical low within the monsoon trough over the western Cape York Peninsula at the end of January 2012, with the Bureau of Meteorology formally tracking it from 1 February. The system moved eastward across the Cape York Peninsula and emerged into the Coral Sea north of Cairns, where it was named Jasmine on 4 February. It then tracked into the South Pacific, intensifying steadily as wind shear eased, and reached its peak intensity around 7–8 February as a Category 4 system on both the Australian and Saffir-Simpson scales, with one-minute sustained winds of 215 km/h, passing approximately 280 km northeast of New Caledonia. Jasmine displayed annular tropical cyclone characteristics during this period, including a large, well-defined eye.

The cyclone subsequently weakened under increasing wind shear and cooler sea surface temperatures, loitered near Tonga between 14 and 15 February, then underwent extratropical transition before dissipating on 19 February — a lifespan of roughly 16 days. Jasmine never made a significant coastal landfall as a mature cyclone. Its predecessor system brought heavy rainfall and gusty winds to northern Queensland, damaging trees and power lines in Cairns and closing roads. Vanuatu experienced crop destruction, particularly to banana plantations, prompting emergency preparations by Oxfam and Save the Children. Tonga was inundated with heavy rainfall compounding damage already caused by Cyclone Cyril days earlier. Following the season, the name Jasmine was retired and replaced with Jenna.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia