JEAN
1972-73 season · AU197273_02U
History
Severe Tropical Cyclone Jean was a powerful and relatively long-lived system that affected the north-west of Western Australia in January 1973. It began as a tropical low embedded in an active monsoon trough over the Timor Sea on 10 January. Drifting west-southwest across very warm waters, the low organised quickly and was named Jean by the Perth Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre on 11 January, by which time it had reached Category 1 strength roughly 300 km north of Broome.
Steered by a mid-level ridge lying to its south, Jean then tracked south-westward, running broadly parallel to the Kimberley and Pilbara coastlines while deepening. It reached severe tropical cyclone status, with a minimum central pressure of about 965 hPa attained late on 13 January while the system lay off the North West Shelf. Maximum sustained winds were in the order of 130–140 km/h, with gusts near the core exceeding 180 km/h. (Some later analyses have assessed the system at Category 4.)
On 15 January Jean swung south-south-westward and crossed the coast directly over the North West Cape near Exmouth, still a Category 2–3 system. Destructive gusts above 150 km/h were recorded across the cape. Exmouth township and the adjacent Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station suffered structural damage, with buildings unroofed, power lines brought down and communications equipment damaged. Offshore, heavy seas and storm-force winds forced the suspension of drilling operations and the evacuation of rigs on the North West Shelf, although the major installations escaped serious harm.
After landfall Jean weakened steadily as it moved inland over the Gascoyne and Murchison, degenerating into a rain-bearing depression before dissipating over the Goldfields on 17 January. The decaying system delivered heavy and widespread rainfall across these normally arid districts, flooding regional roads, cutting the North West Coastal Highway and isolating remote pastoral stations for more than a week. No deaths were directly attributed to the cyclone.
Jean was one of several significant systems in what proved to be an unusually active Australian region season.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (57 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-01-10 01:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 115.0 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-01-10 04:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 115.0 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-10 07:00:00 | 1 | -12.5, 115.0 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-10 10:00:00 | 1 | -12.9, 115.0 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-10 13:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 115.0 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-10 16:00:00 | 1 | -13.3, 115.0 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-10 19:00:00 | 1 | -13.6, 115.0 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-10 22:00:00 | 1 | -14.0, 115.0 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 01:00:00 | 1 | -14.4, 115.0 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 04:00:00 | 1 | -15.0, 114.8 | 997 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 07:00:00 | 1 | -15.6, 114.6 | 996 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 10:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 114.5 | 994 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 13:00:00 | 1 | -16.4, 114.4 | 992 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 16:00:00 | 1 | -16.9, 114.3 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 19:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 114.0 | 990 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1973-01-11 22:00:00 | 1 | -17.7, 113.7 | 986 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 01:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 113.0 | 980 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 04:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 112.7 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 07:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 112.5 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 10:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 112.0 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 13:00:00 | 1 | -17.9, 111.5 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 16:00:00 | 1 | -18.0, 111.0 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 19:00:00 | 1 | -18.1, 110.0 | 968 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1973-01-12 22:00:00 | 1 | -18.6, 109.0 | 966 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 01:00:00 | 1 | -19.0, 108.0 | 964 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 04:00:00 | 1 | -19.3, 107.8 | 964 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 07:00:00 | 1 | -19.5, 107.3 | 964 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 10:00:00 | 1 | -19.7, 107.0 | 964 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 13:00:00 | 1 | -19.9, 106.7 | 964 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 16:00:00 | 1 | -20.0, 106.3 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 19:00:00 | 1 | -20.2, 106.0 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-13 22:00:00 | 1 | -20.5, 105.5 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 01:00:00 | 1 | -21.0, 105.0 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 04:00:00 | 1 | -21.1, 104.6 | 968 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 07:00:00 | 1 | -21.2, 104.2 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 10:00:00 | 1 | -21.5, 103.8 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 13:00:00 | 1 | -21.8, 103.4 | 975 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 16:00:00 | 1 | -22.1, 102.9 | 975 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 19:00:00 | 1 | -22.5, 102.4 | 978 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1973-01-14 20:00:00 | 1 | -22.9, 102.0 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 01:00:00 | 1 | -23.1, 101.5 | 982 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 04:00:00 | 1 | -23.4, 100.8 | 982 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 07:00:00 | 1 | -23.8, 100.4 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 10:00:00 | 1 | -24.0, 100.0 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 13:00:00 | 1 | -24.5, 100.0 | 986 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 16:00:00 | 1 | -25.0, 99.9 | 987 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 19:00:00 | 1 | -25.4, 99.7 | 990 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1973-01-15 20:00:00 | 1 | -25.6, 99.4 | 990 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 01:00:00 | 1 | -25.6, 99.0 | 992 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 04:00:00 | 1 | -25.5, 98.8 | 992 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 07:00:00 | 1 | -25.4, 98.7 | 992 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 10:00:00 | 1 | -25.2, 98.6 | 992 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 13:00:00 | 1 | -25.1, 98.6 | 993 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 16:00:00 | 1 | -25.0, 98.6 | 994 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 19:00:00 | 1 | -24.8, 98.5 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-01-16 22:00:00 | 1 | -24.6, 98.5 | 996 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-01-17 01:00:00 | 1 | -24.5, 98.5 | 997 hPa | 13 km/h |