NORAH
1974-75 season · AU197475_02U
History
Tropical Cyclone Norah was an unusually early-season severe tropical cyclone that developed over northern Australian waters in late October 1974. The system originated from a low embedded in a monsoonal trough over the Arafura Sea, to the north of the Top End, on 28 October. Tracking east-southeastward, it consolidated into a tropical cyclone on 29 October as it moved into the northern Gulf of Carpentaria, and was named Norah by the Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Darwin.
Steered southeastward across the warm waters of the Gulf, Norah intensified quickly, reaching Category 3 severe tropical cyclone status on the Australian scale. Peak intensity was attained late on 31 October as the system approached the western coastline of Cape York Peninsula, with a minimum central pressure of around 965 hPa. Maximum 10-minute sustained winds were estimated at roughly 130–140 km/h (70–75 knots), while gusts near the core exceeded 180 km/h.
Norah crossed the coast near Weipa on western Cape York Peninsula on 1 November, still at severe tropical cyclone intensity. Once inland, friction and interaction with the terrain rapidly eroded the core, and the cyclone weakened to a broad tropical depression on 2 November. The remnant low continued across northern Queensland before dissipating over the Coral Sea on 4 November.
Coastal settlements on western Cape York experienced damaging wind gusts, squally rain and storm-surge flooding. Weipa, then a developing bauxite mining town, suffered moderate structural damage, with buildings losing roofing, trees brought down and power lines disrupted. Heavy rainbands produced significant falls across Cape York catchments, causing rapid river rises, washing out unsealed roads and temporarily isolating remote cattle stations and Indigenous communities. Marine warnings issued across the Gulf of Carpentaria forced bauxite carriers, barges and prawn trawlers to shelter in protected estuaries. No direct fatalities were recorded, with losses confined to localised property and infrastructure damage.
Norah was one of several systems in an active and destructive 1974–75 Australian region season, which later produced Cyclone Tracy at Darwin.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (57 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-10-28 00:00:00 | 1 | -8.0, 105.1 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-28 03:00:00 | 1 | -7.9, 104.8 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-28 06:00:00 | 1 | -7.9, 104.6 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-28 09:00:00 | 1 | -7.8, 104.3 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-28 12:00:00 | 1 | -7.7, 104.1 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-28 15:00:00 | 1 | -7.7, 103.8 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-28 18:00:00 | 1 | -7.6, 103.5 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-28 21:00:00 | 1 | -7.6, 103.4 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 00:00:00 | 1 | -7.6, 103.2 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 03:00:00 | 1 | -7.6, 102.6 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 06:00:00 | 1 | -7.6, 102.1 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 09:00:00 | 1 | -7.8, 101.5 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 12:00:00 | 1 | -8.0, 101.1 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 15:00:00 | 1 | -8.5, 100.5 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 18:00:00 | 1 | -9.0, 100.1 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-10-29 21:00:00 | 1 | -9.4, 99.6 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 00:00:00 | 1 | -9.8, 99.0 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 03:00:00 | 1 | -9.8, 98.6 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 06:00:00 | 1 | -9.9, 98.1 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 09:00:00 | 1 | -10.0, 97.6 | 999 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 12:00:00 | 1 | -10.2, 97.1 | 997 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 15:00:00 | 1 | -10.4, 96.6 | 996 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 18:00:00 | 1 | -10.6, 96.1 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1974-10-30 21:00:00 | 1 | -10.8, 95.5 | 994 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 00:00:00 | 1 | -11.2, 95.0 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 03:00:00 | 1 | -11.4, 94.6 | 992 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 06:00:00 | 1 | -11.4, 94.3 | 990 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 09:00:00 | 1 | -11.7, 93.9 | 989 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 93.4 | 987 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 15:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 93.0 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 18:00:00 | 1 | -12.3, 92.5 | 983 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1974-10-31 21:00:00 | 1 | -12.4, 92.2 | 982 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.5, 91.6 | 981 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 03:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 91.4 | 981 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 90.8 | 982 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 09:00:00 | 1 | -12.7, 90.4 | 984 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.8, 89.8 | 988 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 15:00:00 | 1 | -12.9, 89.4 | 991 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 88.7 | 992 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1974-11-01 21:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 88.2 | 993 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 87.6 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 03:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 87.0 | 994 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 06:00:00 | 1 | -13.2, 86.4 | 993 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 09:00:00 | 1 | -13.2, 85.6 | 994 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 12:00:00 | 1 | -13.2, 85.0 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 15:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 84.3 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 83.7 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-11-02 21:00:00 | 1 | -12.9, 83.0 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 00:00:00 | 1 | -12.7, 82.4 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 03:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 81.7 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.4, 81.2 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 09:00:00 | 1 | -12.2, 80.4 | 1000 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.0, 79.6 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 15:00:00 | 1 | -11.7, 78.9 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 18:00:00 | 1 | -11.5, 78.3 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-11-03 21:00:00 | 1 | -11.4, 77.5 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1974-11-04 00:00:00 | 1 | -11.3, 76.6 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |