Tropical Cyclone Stan
The first Tropical Cyclone for the 2015-16 season; Tropical Cyclone Stan crossed the coast of Western Australia as a category 2 cyclone.
Tropical Cyclone Stan made landfall 31 January 2016 as a category 2 cyclone. Stan crossed the coast to the east of Pardoo in the Pilbara region.
The situation at 5:00 am AWST, 31 January 2016
Intensity: category 2, sustained winds near the centre of 95 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 130 kilometres per hour.
Location: within 35 kilometres of 20.4 degrees South, 120.0 degrees East , 55 kilometres southeast of Pardoo and 145 kilometres east of Port Hedland .
Movement: south southeast at 18 kilometres per hour. TC Stan will moved inland and gradually weakened.
From www.bom.gov.au
Technical report from JTWC
31 January 2016 AWST
TROPICAL CYCLONE (TC) 09S (STAN), LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 52 NM EAST-NORTHEAST OF PORT HEDLAND, AUSTRALIA, HAS TRACKED SOUTH-SOUTHEASTWARD AT 08 KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED ENHANCED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS A WEAKENING LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER WITH WARMING CLOUD-TOPS. RECENT RADAR IMAGERY FROM PORT HEDLAND, AND OBSERVATIONAL DATA AROUND THE AREA INDICATE THE SYSTEM CENTER HAS MADE LANDFALL JUST WEST OF PARDOO, AUSTRALIA AROUND 18Z.
THE CURRENT INTENSITY IS ASSESSED AT 55 KNOTS, BASED ON OBSERVATIONAL DATA SHOWING 40 TO 50 KNOT WIND GUSTS REPORTED AT BEDOUT ISLAND. THE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO TRACK SOUTH-SOUTHEASTWARD UNDER THE STEERING INFLUENCE OF A DEEP SUBTROPICAL RIDGE TO THE EAST. TC STAN IS FORECAST TO ACCELERATE SOUTHEASTWARD AND WEAKEN RAPIDLY AS IT BECOMES EMBEDDED WITHIN A DEEP MID-LATITUDE TROUGH.
