YVONNE

History

Tropical Cyclone Yvonne was a short-lived, weak system that affected far northern Queensland in February 1974. It developed within a strong and persistent monsoonal trough over the northern Coral Sea, forming roughly 200 kilometres east-north-east of Cooktown on 8 February. The Bureau of Meteorology's Brisbane tropical cyclone warning centre named the system Yvonne the same day, by which stage it had organised into a minimal Category 1 cyclone on the Australian scale.

Yvonne tracked generally west-north-west towards the Queensland coast. It attained its peak intensity on 9 February while approaching the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula, with a minimum central pressure of about 992 hPa. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at roughly 65–75 km/h, with gusts near 95–100 km/h. Strong upper-level wind shear, combined with the system's increasing proximity to land, prevented any further strengthening.

The weakening cyclone crossed the coast near Princess Charlotte Bay on 10 February. Its deep convection and structure broke down quickly over the rugged terrain of Cape York Peninsula, and the system dissipated shortly afterwards, giving Yvonne a total life span of only about three days.

Impacts were minor. Yvonne produced squally monsoonal winds, raised tides and heavy rain showers along the remote eastern coastline of Cape York Peninsula. Because the cyclone was weak and crossed a sparsely populated stretch of coast, no significant structural damage occurred, and there were no deaths or injuries. The remnant low spread bands of heavy monsoonal rain across river catchments in far northern Queensland, adding to the ongoing wet-season runoff, although river rises remained moderate by comparison with the flooding produced by earlier systems.

Yvonne was one of many tropical cyclones recorded during the exceptionally busy 1973–74 Australian region season, but it ranked among the weakest and least consequential of them.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia