Laurence
2009-10 season · AU200910_01U
History
Severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence developed from a tropical low over the Arafura Sea on 8 December 2009, making it the first named system of the 2009–10 Australian region cyclone season. The system tracked westward, intensifying rapidly through the cyclone categories before reaching Category 5 strength. It made its first landfall on the Kimberley coast southeast of Cockatoo Island on 16 December, then weakened as it moved inland over northern Kimberley. The system re-emerged over warm waters, re-intensified, and struck the Western Australian coast near Eighty Mile Beach on 21–22 December once again as a Category 5 cyclone — the first Category 5 landfall in Australia since Cyclone George in 2007.
The storm's second landfall caused severe damage across the Pilbara region, with wind gusts recorded up to 295 km/h uprooting trees and damaging numerous homes. Rainfall exceeded 250 mm in affected areas, cutting power and telephone services to most of the region. Hundreds of livestock were feared lost, and Newcrest's Telfer gold mine was temporarily closed. River systems as far away as New South Wales were placed on flood alert. One person sustained serious injuries after falling from a roof in the Kimberley. There were no fatalities. Total damage was estimated at A$10 million, and the name Laurence was subsequently retired and replaced with Lincoln.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (65 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-12-08 00:00:00 | 1 | -8.9, 139.5 | 1008 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-08 06:00:00 | 1 | -9.2, 138.2 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-08 12:00:00 | 1 | -9.5, 138.0 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-08 18:00:00 | 1 | -9.7, 137.7 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-09 00:00:00 | 1 | -9.8, 137.2 | 1008 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-09 06:00:00 | 1 | -9.9, 136.6 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-09 12:00:00 | 1 | -9.9, 135.9 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-09 18:00:00 | 1 | -9.9, 135.2 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-10 00:00:00 | 1 | -10.0, 134.5 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-10 06:00:00 | 1 | -10.3, 133.7 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-10 12:00:00 | 1 | -10.4, 133.4 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-10 18:00:00 | 1 | -10.5, 133.1 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-11 00:00:00 | 1 | -10.7, 132.7 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-11 06:00:00 | 5 | -11.3, 132.1 | 1006 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-11 12:00:00 | 1 | -11.8, 131.7 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-11 18:00:00 | 3 | -12.2, 131.1 | 1005 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 2009-12-12 00:00:00 | 2 | -12.5, 130.7 | 999 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 2009-12-12 06:00:00 | 4 | -13.0, 130.2 | 1004 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 2009-12-12 12:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 130.0 | 1005 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-12 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.2, 129.6 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-13 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 128.7 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-13 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 127.9 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-13 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 127.8 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-13 18:00:00 | 1 | -12.4, 128.8 | 1002 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 2009-12-14 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 128.5 | 998 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 2009-12-14 06:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 127.8 | 996 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 2009-12-14 12:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 127.1 | 988 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 2009-12-14 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.2, 126.6 | 984 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 2009-12-15 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.6, 126.3 | 978 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 2009-12-15 06:00:00 | 1 | -14.3, 125.4 | 958 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 2009-12-15 12:00:00 | 1 | -14.6, 124.9 | 949 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 2009-12-15 18:00:00 | 1 | -15.1, 124.5 | 945 hPa | 51 km/h |
| 2009-12-15 21:00:00 | 1 | -15.2, 124.4 | 933 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 2009-12-16 00:00:00 | 1 | -15.3, 124.2 | 932 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 2009-12-16 06:00:00 | 1 | -15.9, 124.0 | 950 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 2009-12-16 12:00:00 | 1 | -16.2, 124.1 | 961 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 2009-12-16 15:00:00 | 3 | -16.3, 124.1 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 2009-12-16 18:00:00 | 2 | -16.5, 124.2 | 982 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 2009-12-17 00:00:00 | 2 | -16.9, 124.3 | 992 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 2009-12-17 06:00:00 | 2 | -16.9, 124.3 | 995 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 2009-12-17 12:00:00 | 2 | -16.9, 124.3 | 1000 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-17 18:00:00 | 2 | -16.9, 124.3 | 1002 hPa | 8 km/h |
| 2009-12-18 00:00:00 | 2 | -17.1, 124.2 | 1003 hPa | 8 km/h |
| 2009-12-18 06:00:00 | 2 | -17.2, 123.9 | 1003 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 2009-12-18 12:00:00 | 2 | -17.1, 123.4 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-18 18:00:00 | 2 | -16.7, 122.7 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 2009-12-19 00:00:00 | 4 | -16.6, 122.6 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 2009-12-19 06:00:00 | 1 | -16.9, 122.2 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 2009-12-19 12:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 121.8 | 987 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 2009-12-19 18:00:00 | 1 | -17.5, 121.3 | 984 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 2009-12-20 00:00:00 | 1 | -17.8, 120.9 | 980 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 2009-12-20 06:00:00 | 1 | -18.3, 120.6 | 966 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 2009-12-20 12:00:00 | 1 | -18.5, 120.4 | 951 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 2009-12-20 18:00:00 | 1 | -18.7, 120.4 | 938 hPa | 51 km/h |
| 2009-12-21 00:00:00 | 1 | -19.0, 120.5 | 934 hPa | 54 km/h |
| 2009-12-21 06:00:00 | 1 | -19.4, 120.6 | 925 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 2009-12-21 09:00:00 | 3 | -19.7, 120.7 | 925 hPa | 57 km/h |
| 2009-12-21 12:00:00 | 2 | -20.0, 120.8 | 956 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 2009-12-21 18:00:00 | 2 | -20.5, 121.0 | 976 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 2009-12-22 00:00:00 | 2 | -21.1, 121.2 | 986 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 2009-12-22 06:00:00 | 2 | -21.9, 121.7 | 987 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 2009-12-22 12:00:00 | 2 | -22.6, 122.8 | 991 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 2009-12-22 18:00:00 | 2 | -23.4, 123.8 | 995 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 2009-12-23 00:00:00 | 2 | -24.5, 125.2 | 998 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 2009-12-23 06:00:00 | 2 | -25.3, 126.9 | 1001 hPa | 10 km/h |