 Vance nearing Western Australia at peak intensity on 20 March | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 16 March 1999 |
| Extratropical | 23 March 1999 |
| Dissipated | 23 March 1999 |
| Category 5 severe tropical cyclone | |
| 10-minute sustained (BOM) | |
| Highest winds | 220 km/h (140 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 910 hPa (mbar); 26.87 inHg |
| Category 4-equivalent tropical cyclone | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 230 km/h (145 mph) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | None |
| Damage | $100 million (1999 USD) |
| Areas affected | |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1998–99 Australian region cyclone season | |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Vance was a tropical cyclone that struck Western Australia during the active 1998–99 Australian region cyclone season, and was also one of six tropical cyclones to form off the coast of Australia during that season. When making landfall the Learmonth Meteorological Office (35 km south of Exmouth) recorded the highest Australian wind gust of 267 km/h (166 mph).[1] The previous highest gust was 259 km/h (161 mph) at nearby Mardie during Cyclone Trixie.[2] This record was surpassed in 2010 after a world record wind-gust of 408 km/h (254 mph) at Barrow Island during Cyclone Olivia in 1996 was declared official by the World Meteorological Organisation.
Forming on 19 March 1999, in the Timor Sea, Vance then curved west-southwest where it recurved and struck the Gascoyne and Pilbara coasts of Western Australia on 22 March as a Category 5 cyclone on the Australian scale and dissipating the following day.
Vance caused severe damage across the western coast of Australia. The hardest hit town was Exmouth where 70 percent of the buildings sustained severe damage. However, because of advance warnings there were no reports of fatalities.[2] Damage totaled AU 100,000,000 (1999 USD).[3]
- ^ Bureau of Meteorology Tropical Cyclone Vance in Review. March 2000. URL Accessed: 30 December 2006
- ^ a b Bureau of Meteorology BoM Report on Vance. March 2000. URL Accessed: 19 July 2006
- ^ NCDC (1999) NCDC Impact Report Archived 2006-06-21 at the Wayback Machine URL Accessed: 21 July 2006