Australian Weather News |
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Sunday 27 February 2000 |
Today's weather extremes |
Tropical
Cyclone Steve crosses Qld coast at Cairns ![]() |
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Highest rainfall, 24 hours to 9am |
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153.0
Willis Island MO Qld 136.6 Gorrie Station NT 115.7 Hamilton Island Qld 115.0 Centre Island NT |
A
weak low south of Willis Island in the Coral Sea developed
into TC Steve late this morning, then moved westward to pass directly over
Cairns around 7pm. Gale to storm force winds accompanied the passage
of the cyclone, with the eye, about 30km across, passing over the city between
7 and 8pm. The maximum ten-minute sustained wind reported at the airport
was 104km/h from the ESE at 6.51pm when the barometer stood at 992.9hPa.
There are press reports of a top windspeed of 143km/h at the airport and
170km/h on Green Island.
The automatic weather station on Green Island, 28km NE of the city of Cairns, recorded gales for a little over an hour before the passage of the eye, which occurred between about 5.45 and 7pm. Top windspeeds before the eye were 98km/h sustained and 115km/h gust at 4.56pm from the SSE, and after the eye 115km/h sustained from the NNE at 6.30pm, with several gusts to 157km/h between 6.30 and 6.34pm. The lowest pressure was 985.8hPa at 5.36pm, and winds dropped to below gale force soon after 7pm. Rainfall with the cyclone was relatively meagre, only 55mm falling at Cairns AP between 3 and 9pm, but heavier rain developed later (see report for 28 Feb for details of damage). The Environmental Protection Agency's wave rider buoy recorded a peak height of 4.96m inside the reef NE of Double Island, about 20km north of Cairns. It is the highest wave recorded since the buoy was commissioned in 1975. |
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Highest & Lowest Temps |
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Maximum | Minimum | |
38.6
Eneabba PO WA 38.6 Marree PO SA 38.6 Streaky Bay SA |
28.0 Carnarvon AP WA | |
11.1 Mt Wellington Tas | 1.9 Liawenee Tas | |
Greatest variations from normal |
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Maximum | Minimum | |
+9.6 35.0 Eucla AP WA +9.6 38.6 Streaky Bay SA |
+6.9 24.5 Port Pirie BHAS Site SA |
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-12.0 22.4 Cashmere Downs WA |
-7.1 9.0 Wokalup Ag Res Stn Harvey WA |
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Other extreme readings | ||
Rainfall: Kununurra AP WA: 40mm in 3hrs to 6am Centre Island NT: 78mm in 3hrs to 3am Cairns AP Qld: 55mm in 6hrs to 9pm Hamilton Is Qld: 77mm in 9hrs to 6am |
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Records set this day | ||
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