Stan

History

Tropical Cyclone Stan formed on 29 January 2016 when Tropical Low 08U, which had developed approximately 750 kilometres north of Port Hedland on 27 January, was upgraded to a Category 1 system and named by the Bureau of Meteorology. The cyclone intensified steadily as it tracked southeast toward the east Pilbara coast of Western Australia, reaching Category 2 intensity before making landfall on the Western Australian coastline. Stan was the first named tropical cyclone of the 2015–16 Australian region season, which was the least active on record since reliable data collection began in 1969, with only three named systems forming in total. The season's low activity was attributed to a strong El Niño event and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, which suppressed development near Western Australia for much of the year. Upon landfall, Stan affected several major resource industries in the region, including oil, natural gas, and iron ore operations. However, the overall impact on people and infrastructure was relatively limited, largely because the affected coastline is very sparsely populated. No significant casualties were reported in connection with the cyclone.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia