KERRY
1978-79 season · AU197879_05U
History
Severe Tropical Cyclone Kerry was active in the Australian region from 12 February to 3 March 1979, making it the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record in the Australian basin. The system tracked through the Coral Sea and followed a notably erratic path before eventually making landfall near Proserpine on the Queensland coast on 1 March 1979, coming ashore as a weakened system after peaking at Category 4 intensity.
At its peak, Kerry had an estimated minimum central pressure of 955 hPa and maximum sustained winds of approximately 165 km/h. The storm became the subject of significant scientific interest when a United States NOAA WP-3D Orion research aircraft flew into it on three occasions — 21 February, 22 February, and 4 March — making it one of the first southern hemisphere cyclones to be directly sampled by reconnaissance aircraft. Measurements taken during these flights recorded Kerry's eye at approximately 180 kilometres in diameter, recognised as the largest tropical cyclone eye ever measured.
The cyclone caused damage across multiple areas during its extended lifespan. The Solomon Islands sustained considerable destruction, including thousands of homes damaged and four fatalities. Along the Queensland coast, Kerry produced heavy rainfall and extensive urban flooding around Mackay, while strong wind gusts and rough seas caused around one million dollars in harbour damage, with several vessels torn from their moorings.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (82 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-02-12 23:00:00 | 1 | -8.1, 170.1 | 1003 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1979-02-13 05:00:00 | 1 | -8.1, 169.1 | 1000 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-13 11:00:00 | 1 | -8.2, 168.1 | 997 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-13 17:00:00 | 1 | -8.3, 167.0 | 993 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-02-13 23:00:00 | 1 | -8.3, 166.2 | 988 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1979-02-14 05:00:00 | 1 | -8.5, 164.2 | 986 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1979-02-14 11:00:00 | 1 | -9.0, 163.1 | 983 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1979-02-14 17:00:00 | 1 | -9.3, 162.3 | 980 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1979-02-14 23:00:00 | 1 | -9.6, 162.0 | 978 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1979-02-15 05:00:00 | 1 | -10.7, 160.9 | 978 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1979-02-15 11:00:00 | 1 | -11.3, 160.1 | 978 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1979-02-15 17:00:00 | 1 | -11.8, 159.4 | 978 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1979-02-15 23:00:00 | 1 | -12.1, 158.8 | 977 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1979-02-16 05:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 158.0 | 976 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-16 11:00:00 | 1 | -12.8, 157.4 | 975 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-16 17:00:00 | 1 | -13.3, 157.3 | 973 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-16 23:00:00 | 1 | -13.8, 157.6 | 971 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-17 05:00:00 | 1 | -14.3, 158.0 | 969 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-17 11:00:00 | 1 | -14.5, 158.3 | 966 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1979-02-17 17:00:00 | 1 | -14.9, 158.6 | 963 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1979-02-17 23:00:00 | 1 | -15.2, 158.8 | 960 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1979-02-18 05:00:00 | 1 | -15.9, 158.7 | 956 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1979-02-18 11:00:00 | 1 | -16.3, 158.4 | 952 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1979-02-18 17:00:00 | 1 | -16.9, 157.9 | 950 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1979-02-18 23:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 157.4 | 945 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1979-02-19 05:00:00 | 1 | -17.7, 156.9 | 945 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1979-02-19 11:00:00 | 1 | -18.1, 156.5 | 945 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1979-02-19 17:00:00 | 1 | -18.6, 155.9 | 945 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1979-02-19 23:00:00 | 1 | -18.9, 155.5 | 945 hPa | 51 km/h |
| 1979-02-20 05:00:00 | 1 | -18.9, 155.1 | 947 hPa | 51 km/h |
| 1979-02-20 11:00:00 | 1 | -18.7, 154.9 | 950 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1979-02-20 17:00:00 | 1 | -18.3, 154.3 | 952 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1979-02-20 23:00:00 | 1 | -18.1, 154.1 | 955 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1979-02-21 05:00:00 | 1 | -17.6, 153.9 | 955 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-21 11:00:00 | 1 | -17.4, 154.1 | 956 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-21 17:00:00 | 1 | -17.1, 154.3 | 957 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-21 23:00:00 | 1 | -16.9, 154.1 | 957 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1979-02-22 05:00:00 | 1 | -16.6, 154.6 | 957 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1979-02-22 11:00:00 | 1 | -16.7, 155.0 | 958 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-22 17:00:00 | 1 | -16.8, 155.6 | 960 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-22 23:00:00 | 1 | -16.9, 155.9 | 962 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1979-02-23 05:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 156.1 | 963 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1979-02-23 11:00:00 | 1 | -17.3, 156.4 | 965 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1979-02-23 17:00:00 | 1 | -17.4, 156.6 | 967 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1979-02-23 23:00:00 | 1 | -17.5, 156.9 | 970 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1979-02-24 05:00:00 | 1 | -17.7, 157.1 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1979-02-24 11:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 157.1 | 972 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1979-02-24 17:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 156.5 | 974 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1979-02-24 23:00:00 | 1 | -17.7, 156.1 | 976 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1979-02-25 05:00:00 | 1 | -17.5, 155.5 | 979 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1979-02-25 11:00:00 | 1 | -17.5, 155.1 | 980 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1979-02-25 17:00:00 | 1 | -17.5, 154.4 | 982 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-02-25 23:00:00 | 1 | -17.5, 154.1 | 984 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-02-26 05:00:00 | 1 | -18.2, 153.3 | 984 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-02-26 11:00:00 | 1 | -18.7, 153.0 | 984 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-02-26 17:00:00 | 1 | -19.3, 152.6 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-26 23:00:00 | 1 | -19.6, 152.8 | 987 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-27 05:00:00 | 1 | -20.1, 153.0 | 988 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-27 11:00:00 | 1 | -20.3, 152.8 | 990 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-27 17:00:00 | 1 | -20.3, 152.4 | 991 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-27 23:00:00 | 1 | -20.3, 152.2 | 994 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-28 05:00:00 | 1 | -20.2, 151.3 | 994 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-02-28 11:00:00 | 1 | -20.3, 150.6 | 994 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-02-28 17:00:00 | 1 | -20.2, 149.5 | 995 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-02-28 23:00:00 | 1 | -20.3, 148.9 | 995 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-03-01 03:00:00 | 3 | -20.2, 148.6 | 995 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1979-03-01 05:00:00 | 2 | -20.1, 148.4 | 996 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-03-01 11:00:00 | 2 | -20.0, 148.1 | 998 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-03-01 17:00:00 | 2 | -19.8, 148.0 | 1000 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1979-03-01 23:00:00 | 2 | -19.7, 147.8 | 1002 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1979-03-02 05:00:00 | 4 | -19.3, 147.6 | 1001 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1979-03-02 11:00:00 | 1 | -18.8, 147.4 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1979-03-02 17:00:00 | 1 | -17.9, 147.4 | 997 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1979-03-02 23:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 147.4 | 995 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1979-03-03 05:00:00 | 1 | -17.0, 147.5 | 994 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1979-03-03 11:00:00 | 1 | -16.9, 147.5 | 994 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1979-03-03 17:00:00 | 1 | -17.5, 147.7 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1979-03-03 23:00:00 | 1 | -18.1, 147.9 | 993 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1979-03-04 05:00:00 | 1 | -18.9, 148.4 | 994 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1979-03-04 11:00:00 | 1 | -19.3, 149.1 | 994 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1979-03-04 17:00:00 | 1 | -20.3, 150.0 | 997 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1979-03-04 23:00:00 | 1 | -21.5, 150.7 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |