THELMA

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Thelma developed in the Timor Sea approximately 350 kilometres north of Darwin on 6 December 1998, after a low-pressure system moved into the area in early December. The system intensified at roughly twice the average rate for tropical cyclones, escalating from Category 2 to Category 5 on the Australian scale within just two days of being named. At its peak on 8 December, Thelma recorded a minimum central pressure of 920 hPa and maximum wind gusts of 320 km/h, making it one of the most intense cyclones ever observed off the Australian coast and the first known Category 5 system in the Timor Sea.

Thelma passed approximately 200 kilometres from Darwin, posing the most serious threat to the city since Cyclone Tracy in 1974. It then tracked southwest across the Timor Sea before making landfall on the north Kimberley coast northwest of Kuri Bay early on 11 December as a Category 3 system. It subsequently weakened as it moved inland through the Kimberley and Pilbara regions before dissipating.

Despite its extreme intensity, overall damage was relatively limited. Impacts included communications and power disruptions on the Tiwi Islands, vegetation damage, localised flooding around Darwin — where a record 425 mm fell in 24 hours at Howard Springs — and structural damage to BHP facilities at Troughton Island. Around 120 residents were evacuated from Kalumburu. One fatality was associated with the storm; the remains of an elderly man believed swept away by floodwaters were found ten months later. The name Thelma was subsequently retired.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia