Cyclone Vance

During our time in Exmouth we went to the discovery center/ Visitor Center and discovered that in 1998-99 Exmouth dealt with a Severe Tropical Cyclone named Cyclone Vance.

Let me tell you a bit about this Cyclone!

Cyclone Vance was a tropical cyclone which hit Western Australia during the active cyclone season in the Australian Region in 1998–99. The highest wind gust of 267 km/h was recorded during the cyclone.

What was the process of it forming and intensifying?

• Vance was first identified as a tropical low on 16 March in the Timor Sea.

• The low started to deepen and eventually reached tropical cyclone strength on 18 March

• Moving in a west-southwesterly direction, Vance stayed in warm ocean waters off the Kimberley coast (and in a weak wind-shear environment).

• These conditions allowed it to continue to increase in strength and it became a category 3 severe tropical cyclone late on 19 March.

• Vance continued its west-southwesterly track over the next 24 hours, gradually becoming stronger, and overnight on 20 March it became a category 5 severe tropical cyclone—the highest category in the Bureau's rating system.

It's Impact:

• At this stage Vance was still some distance from the coast, and there was no immediate threat to the mainland.

• They issued the first cyclone warning for the Exmouth/Onslow area at 10 am.

• Late on the 21 March Vance started moving in a more southerly direction, towards the Exmouth/Onslow region, putting the area under direct threat.

• Vance was downgraded to category 1 as it passed to the northeast of Kalgoorlie around 3 pm, but rain associated with the system was still heavy enough to cause flooding in the southern Goldfields, and the main highway and rail link to the eastern States were both cut by floodwaters.

• Vance was still a category 1 cyclone when it crossed the Eucla coast during 24 March and the remnants of the system produced gale-force winds over parts of South Australia and Victoria.

Here is a video showing Cyclone Vance's route.

Here are some images and a video showing the damages caused by Cyclone Vance.