Cyclone Kelvin

Severe Tropical Cyclone Kelvin

Kelvin during its peak intensity over Western Australia on 18 February
Meteorological history
Formed	11 February 2018
Remnant low	19 February 2018
Dissipated	21 February 2018
Category 3 severe tropical cyclone
10-minute sustained (Aus)
Highest winds	150 km/h (90 mph)
Lowest pressure	955 hPa (mbar); 28.20 inHg
Category 1-equivalent tropical cyclone
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds	140 km/h (85 mph)
Lowest pressure	971 hPa (mbar); 28.67 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	None
Damage	$25 million (2018 USD)
Areas affected	Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia
IBTrACS
Part of the 2017–18 Australian region cyclone season

Severe Tropical Cyclone Kelvin was a strong tropical cyclone that impacted Western Australia in February 2018, causing moderate damage. The system was first identified as a weak tropical low on the morning of 11 February over the Northern Territory's Tiwi Islands by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). The low moved southwestwards over land and emerged over the Indian Ocean near Broome on 16 February. The storm intensified into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the following day, becoming the sixth named storm of the 2017–18 Australian region cyclone season. Kelvin subsequently moved slowly eastwards and began to rapidly intensify in the hours prior to landfall. On 18 February, the storm crossed the coast along Eighty Mile Beach as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale, and a high-end Category 1 hurricane-equivalent cyclone on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Despite being over land, Kelvin weakened at a slow rate over the next few days, and was downgraded to a tropical low on 19 February. The remnant low of the system drifted over the Outback before being last noted by BoM on 21 February.

Kelvin brought widespread heavy rainfall to the Kimberley region which had already been saturated by other tropical cyclones earlier in the season. As a result, significant flooding occurred in parts of the Kimberley, including in the towns of Broome, which recorded a record annual rainfall total following the storm, and Kalumburu. Property damage was sustained at Broome and Nita Downs, where the cyclone made landfall. Additionally, the Great Northern Highway sustained infrastructural damage as a result of the heavy rainfall and flooding, cutting off access to the towns and leading to a shortage of supplies. Repairs were estimated to take months. Pastoral stations were heavily affected by the cyclone, including Anna Plains Station, which sustained property damage, and Mandora Station, half of which was completely flooded. Overall, Cyclone Kelvin incurred an estimated AUS$25 million ($25 million in 2018 USD) in losses.^[1]