Severe Tropical Cyclone Ingrid
Tropical cyclone Ingrid formed as a tropical low in the eastern Arafura Sea and then strengthened to cyclone intensity in the Coral Sea then moved back towards the west into the Gulf of Carpentaria on the 10th. It crossed the Queensland coast south of Lockhart River as a category 4 cyclone. Vegetation was stripped bare near the crossing point and there is evidence of a significant storm tide.
Ingrid rapidly intensified as it moved across the Gulf of Carpentaria reaching categrory 4 status on the 11th and category 5 status on the 12th when crossing Dysdale Island just north of Elcho Island. Ingrid continued on its consistent west northwestward track just north of the north coast of the Top End but began to weaken before crossing Croker Island. Ingrid tracked southwest across the Timor Sea and began to re-intensify reaching category 5 again on the morning of the 15th. After landfall on the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, north of Kalumburu, Ingrid weakened rapidly then turned to the southeast then finally weakened to below cyclone strength on the morning of the 17th near Wyndham.
Due to Ingrid's longevity and proximity to the coast, many population centres in the Northern Territory were affected, however the effects were localised and confined mainly to island communities. Many coastal and island communities lost power and communications. Extensive tree damage and defoliation occurred at Elcho Island, North Goulburn Island, Croker Island, the Cobourg Peninsula, the northeast tip of Melville Island and near the landfall point on the north Kimberley Coast. At Croker Island extensive damage occurred to several buildings. There was major damage to buildings at a school on the northern end of Elcho Island. A number of buildings also lost their roofs at Cape Don on the Cobourg Peninsula, in communities on the Tiwi Islands and at Kalumburu. There was extensive damage to infrastructure at Faraway Bay bush camp.
The Wessel Islands north of Gove recorded an average wind speed of 165 km/h. Gove airport experienced its record daily rainfall total for March of 192mm. The maximum wind gust recorded was north of the Top End at 207 km/h on McCluer Island. At Truscott on the north Kimberley coast 438mm of rain fell in the 24 hours to 9am on the 16th.
Animated Radar Images :
Stay tuned for more Ingrid animations. Im currently putting together a satellite animation and animations from the Darwin Radar.
Information courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology
Created by DarwinStorms Team