RAY

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Ray was the first named system of the 1975–76 Australian region season, forming from an early-season monsoonal low over the Timor Sea to the north of the Kimberley on 17 November 1975. Tracking west-southwestward across warm waters, the disturbance consolidated quickly and was upgraded to tropical cyclone status on 18 November, when it lay roughly 300 kilometres north-northwest of Broome. The Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Perth assigned the name Ray at that time.

Steered by a strong subtropical ridge lying over the Australian continent, Ray maintained a steady west-southwesterly course that kept it offshore and broadly parallel to the Kimberley and Pilbara coastlines. Intensification continued through 20 November, when the system reached severe tropical cyclone status — Category 3 on the Australian scale — while situated well out to sea beyond North West Cape. At its strongest, Ray had an estimated minimum central pressure near 960 hPa, with maximum sustained winds of about 130–140 km/h and gusts in excess of 185 km/h over the open ocean.

Ray then continued west-southwestward away from Australia and into the southeastern and central Indian Ocean. Increasing vertical wind shear and progressively cooler sea surface temperatures eroded the core, and the system fell below tropical cyclone intensity on 24 November before degenerating entirely on 25 November. It never made landfall. During this westward phase the cyclone was regarded as a potential threat to Cocos Island, with the island considered at risk for a period of around two days as the system passed through the region.

Impacts were minimal. No damage, injuries or deaths were recorded on the Western Australian mainland, as the cyclone's gale-force winds and inner convection remained well clear of coastal settlements. The main effect was at sea, where high-seas warnings covered the North West Shelf shipping lanes, prompting vessels to alter course and offshore oil exploration platforms to activate heavy-weather precautions; no damage was reported from these operations.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia