PAULA
1972-73 season · AU197273_12U
History
Severe Tropical Cyclone Paula was a large, intense system that developed late in the 1972–73 Australian region cyclone season and spent its entire life over water.
Paula began as an active monsoon low in the Timor Sea, north of the Kimberley coast, on 26 March 1973. Drifting west-southwestward across warm tropical waters, the low gradually consolidated and was classified as a tropical cyclone on 27 March, at which point it lay roughly 300 kilometres north-northwest of Broome. The Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Perth assigned the name Paula the same day.
A strong mid-level ridge over Western Australia steered the cyclone on a steady west-southwesterly course, keeping it running roughly parallel to — but well offshore from — the Pilbara coastline. Favourable conditions allowed rapid strengthening, and Paula reached Category 3 severe tropical cyclone status on the Australian scale on 28 March. Its peak was attained while the system was positioned well off the North West Cape, with an estimated minimum central pressure near 960 hPa and maximum ten-minute sustained winds of about 130–140 km/h. Gusts over the open ocean were estimated to have exceeded 180 km/h.
After 30 March, Paula continued west into the central Indian Ocean, moving away from the Australian coast and into a less favourable environment of drier air and cooler sea surface temperatures. Weakening set in steadily, and the system fell below tropical cyclone intensity over open water on 1 April before dissipating soon afterwards.
Because Paula never approached the coastline, no landfall occurred and mainland Western Australia escaped the cyclone's destructive core winds entirely. Marine storm warnings were maintained for shipping lanes across the North West Shelf, and offshore oil and gas facilities adopted precautionary heavy-weather procedures, though none reported structural damage. No deaths, injuries or property damage were attributed to the system, making Paula a meteorologically significant but practically harmless cyclone — one of several systems to round out that season.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (49 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-03-26 00:00:00 | 1 | -8.6, 103.5 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-03-26 03:00:00 | 1 | -8.7, 103.1 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-03-26 06:00:00 | 1 | -8.8, 102.8 | 1006 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-03-26 09:00:00 | 1 | -8.9, 102.4 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-03-26 12:00:00 | 1 | -9.0, 102.0 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-03-26 15:00:00 | 1 | -9.2, 101.6 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-03-26 18:00:00 | 1 | -9.4, 101.2 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1973-03-26 21:00:00 | 1 | -9.6, 100.8 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 00:00:00 | 1 | -9.9, 100.4 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 03:00:00 | 1 | -10.0, 100.1 | 1004 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 06:00:00 | 1 | -10.2, 99.9 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 09:00:00 | 1 | -10.4, 99.6 | 1003 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 12:00:00 | 1 | -10.6, 99.3 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 15:00:00 | 1 | -10.8, 98.9 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 18:00:00 | 1 | -11.0, 98.5 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-27 21:00:00 | 1 | -11.2, 98.2 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 00:00:00 | 1 | -11.4, 97.8 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 03:00:00 | 1 | -11.6, 97.6 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 06:00:00 | 1 | -11.9, 97.2 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 09:00:00 | 1 | -12.1, 96.9 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 12:00:00 | 1 | -12.3, 96.6 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 15:00:00 | 1 | -12.5, 96.3 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 18:00:00 | 1 | -12.8, 95.9 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-28 21:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 95.5 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 00:00:00 | 1 | -13.3, 95.2 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 03:00:00 | 1 | -13.5, 94.9 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 06:00:00 | 1 | -13.7, 94.7 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 09:00:00 | 1 | -13.9, 94.5 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 12:00:00 | 1 | -14.1, 94.3 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 15:00:00 | 1 | -14.3, 94.0 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 18:00:00 | 1 | -14.6, 93.6 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-29 21:00:00 | 1 | -14.9, 93.3 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 00:00:00 | 1 | -15.1, 93.0 | 997 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 03:00:00 | 1 | -15.3, 92.7 | 997 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 06:00:00 | 1 | -15.4, 92.4 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 09:00:00 | 1 | -15.6, 92.1 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 12:00:00 | 1 | -15.8, 91.8 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 15:00:00 | 1 | -15.9, 91.4 | 999 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 18:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 91.0 | 1000 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-30 21:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 90.6 | 1000 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 00:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 90.2 | 1001 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 03:00:00 | 1 | -16.0, 89.8 | 1001 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 06:00:00 | 1 | -15.9, 89.4 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 09:00:00 | 1 | -15.7, 88.9 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 12:00:00 | 1 | -15.5, 88.5 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 15:00:00 | 1 | -15.3, 88.0 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 18:00:00 | 1 | -15.0, 87.5 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-03-31 21:00:00 | 1 | -14.5, 87.0 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1973-04-01 00:00:00 | 1 | -14.0, 86.5 | 1001 hPa | 13 km/h |