KATHY
1983-84 season · AU198384_21U
History
Severe Tropical Cyclone Kathy developed from a tropical low off the southern coast of Papua New Guinea in March 1984. Tracking westward, the system reached gale-force intensity by 18 March and crossed the Cape York Peninsula before entering the Gulf of Carpentaria, where conditions strongly favoured rapid intensification. On 22 March, Kathy reached its peak as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale, with wind gusts recorded up to 280 km/h and a central pressure of 916 hPa, making it the most intense storm of the 1983–84 Australian cyclone season. The cyclone went on to devastate the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. Kathy was responsible for the season's only known fatality and accounted for approximately 60 percent of total seasonal damage, causing around USD 11.4 million of the season's estimated USD 19 million in losses. The 1983–84 season itself was the most active on record at the time, producing 20 tropical cyclones including 12 of severe intensity, and Kathy stood out as its most destructive and powerful system.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (53 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-03-16 18:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 148.5 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1984-03-17 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 148.3 | 1008 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1984-03-17 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 148.1 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1984-03-17 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 147.9 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1984-03-17 18:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 147.7 | 1004 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1984-03-18 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 147.4 | 1000 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1984-03-18 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 147.0 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-18 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 146.4 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-18 15:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 146.0 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-18 18:00:00 | 1 | -12.1, 145.6 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-18 21:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 145.2 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 144.8 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 03:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 144.4 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.3, 144.0 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 09:00:00 | 1 | -12.3, 143.6 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 12:00:00 | 3 | -12.4, 143.2 | 990 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 15:00:00 | 2 | -12.5, 142.8 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 18:00:00 | 2 | -12.5, 142.2 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1984-03-19 21:00:00 | 2 | -12.3, 141.8 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 00:00:00 | 4 | -12.5, 141.4 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 03:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 141.1 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.7, 140.7 | 992 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 09:00:00 | 1 | -12.8, 140.4 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.9, 140.1 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 15:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 139.9 | 987 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.3, 139.7 | 984 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1984-03-20 21:00:00 | 1 | -13.4, 139.5 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.6, 139.2 | 976 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 03:00:00 | 1 | -13.7, 139.0 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 06:00:00 | 1 | -13.8, 138.8 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 09:00:00 | 1 | -13.9, 138.7 | 960 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 12:00:00 | 1 | -14.0, 138.6 | 955 hPa | 51 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 15:00:00 | 1 | -14.1, 138.5 | 950 hPa | 54 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 18:00:00 | 1 | -14.3, 138.4 | 945 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1984-03-21 21:00:00 | 1 | -14.5, 138.3 | 942 hPa | 59 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 00:00:00 | 1 | -14.7, 138.2 | 939 hPa | 59 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 03:00:00 | 1 | -14.9, 138.0 | 934 hPa | 59 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 05:00:00 | 1 | -15.0, 137.8 | 929 hPa | 59 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 08:00:00 | 1 | -15.1, 137.6 | 924 hPa | 62 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 11:00:00 | 1 | -15.2, 137.5 | 920 hPa | 62 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 14:00:00 | 1 | -15.3, 137.3 | 923 hPa | 62 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 17:00:00 | 1 | -15.4, 137.0 | 928 hPa | 62 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 18:30:00 | 1 | -15.5, 137.0 | 935 hPa | 62 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 20:00:00 | 5 | -15.6, 136.9 | 940 hPa | 62 km/h |
| 1984-03-22 23:00:00 | 3 | -15.9, 136.4 | 955 hPa | 62 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 02:00:00 | 2 | -16.1, 136.1 | 965 hPa | 59 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 05:00:00 | 2 | -16.3, 135.8 | 975 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 08:00:00 | 2 | -16.5, 135.5 | 980 hPa | 54 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 11:00:00 | 2 | -16.7, 135.3 | 985 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 14:00:00 | 2 | -16.9, 135.0 | 990 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 17:00:00 | 2 | -17.2, 134.6 | 994 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 20:00:00 | 2 | -17.4, 134.3 | 997 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1984-03-23 23:00:00 | 2 | -18.1, 134.1 | 1000 hPa | 18 km/h |