GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE TRACKS/SUMMARY - MARCH 2009 !!!! IMPORTANT -- PLEASE SEE NOTE AT END OF FILE !!!! MARCH HIGHLIGHTS ---------------- --> Small cyclone forms and nears hurricane intensity in Mozambique Channel but doesn't affect land --> Intense cyclone forms off Northwestern Australia but tracks out to sea --> Very intense cyclone threatens Queensland coast but doesn't make landfall --> Two South Pacific cyclones form east of Dateline GLOBAL OVERVIEW --------------- No tropical cyclones formed in the Northern Hemisphere during March, but the Southern Hemisphere was very active with seven named systems (although one was later downgraded by BoM Perth). Two systems were numbered by MFR. The first, Tropical Depression 10, formed in the eastern stretches of the Southwest Indian Ocean and moved southeast- ward. JTWC briefly upgraded this system to a minimal 35-kt tropical storm. Late in the month, Severe Tropical Storm Izilda formed in the Mozambique Channel and peaked at 60 kts (65 kts 1-min avg per JTWC) and threatened Madagascar, but moved erratically and weakened and remained in the Channel until it dissipated. The Australian Region was quite active with intense cyclones forming on both sides of the continent. A fairly nebulous system was named Gabrielle by BoM Perth early in March well off the Western Australian coastline, but in post-analysis it was decided that Gabrielle had not met the criteria for a tropical cyclone as applied by BoM. Gales must surround more than 50% of the circulation center for at least six hours. While Gabrielle produced gales over a period of a couple of days, the gales existed in only one quadrant at the time; hence, the system is now considered a tropical LOW. Around mid-month, Tropical Cyclone Ilsa formed south of Indonesia and eventually became a 90-kt intense cyclone (110 kts 1-min avg per JTWC) as it moved harmlessly on a west-southwesterly track well out into the Southeast Indian Ocean. In the Coral Sea, intense Tropical Cyclone Hamish formed early in the month and posed a very serious threat to the Queensland coast. Hamish was the first tropical cyclone in Australian waters to reached Category 5 status since Cyclone George in 2007. BoM Perth estimated Hamish's peak 10-min avg intensity at 115 kts, while JTWC's peak 1-min avg MSW was 130 kts. Fortunately, Hamish remained at sea and weakened without making landfall. Two fishermen apparently perished when their boat capsized, and serious beach erosion occurred along extensive reaches of the Queensland coast. Also, an oil spill was blamed on rough seas generated by the cyclone. Around mid-month a weak tropical LOW associated with the remnants of Hamish formed but never developed into a tropical cyclone. A second center formed within a large trough and this center produced gales east of 160E in Fiji's AOR, although by that time is was likely hybrid in character. The remnants of the initial tropical LOW combined with areas in the monsoon trough to form a new LOW center which ultimately developed into Tropical Cyclone Jasper. Jasper moved eastward into Nadi's AOR where it soon began to weaken and dissipate. Much farther to the east, two tropical cyclones of moderate intensity, Joni and Ken, formed east of the Dateline and scooted off to the southeast into the wastes of the Southeastern Pacific. ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E Sources of Information ---------------------- The track coordinates as well as the central pressure and 10-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were obtained from warnings issued by Meteo France's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre on Reunion Island (MFR), which is the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for the basin. The 1-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were taken from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The center position coordinates from JTWC were compared with those from MFR and annotations made in the Remarks column when the differences in general amounted to 40-50 nm or more. Following is the link to the Wikipedia page for the 2008-2009 Southwest Indian Ocean Cyclone Season: Systems Tracked --------------- Tropical Depression (MFR-10 / 19S) 08 - 10 Mar Severe Tropical Storm IZILDA (MFR-11 / 24S) 24 - 29 Mar ************************************************************************* Storm Name: None Cyclone Number: 19S Basin: SWI MFR Tropical Disturbance Number: 10 Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 08 0600 14.4 S 80.8 E 1000 20 Locally 30 kts to south 09 MAR 08 1200 14.9 S 82.1 E 1000 20 " 09 MAR 09 0000 15.5 S 84.2 E 1000 25 09 MAR 09 0530 17.6 S 86.1 E 30 JTWC satellite bulletin 09 MAR 09 1200 18.6 S 85.7 E 997 35 30 09 MAR 09 1800 18.7 S 87.2 E 997 30 09 MAR 10 0000 19.5 S 88.2 E 998 30 25 JTWC: 19.1S/87.4E 09 MAR 10 0600 19.4 S 88.2 E 1000 25 Locally 30 kts SW quad 09 MAR 10 1200 19.7 S 88.6 E 1002 25 " ************************************************************************* Storm Name: IZILDA Cyclone Number: 24S Basin: SWI MFR Tropical Disturbance Number: 11 Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 24 0230 20.7 S 41.3 E 30 SAB satellite bulletin 09 MAR 24 0600 20.8 S 41.7 E 1000 30 25 Locally 30 kts N & SW 09 MAR 24 1200 21.6 S 41.2 E 998 30 09 MAR 24 1800 22.4 S 41.9 E 994 35 35 09 MAR 25 0000 23.1 S 42.2 E 991 40 09 MAR 25 0600 23.0 S 42.1 E 991 35 40 09 MAR 25 1200 23.6 S 42.2 E 988 45 09 MAR 25 1800 23.7 S 42.5 E 978 60 55 09 MAR 26 0000 23.6 S 43.0 E 974 60 09 MAR 26 0600 23.8 S 42.6 E 985 65 50 JTWC: 23.7S/43.3E 09 MAR 26 1200 23.8 S 42.3 E 993 55 40 JTWC: 24.0S/42.8E 09 MAR 26 1800 23.6 S 41.8 E 994 35 40 09 MAR 27 0000 23.6 S 41.4 E 995 35 09 MAR 27 0600 23.4 S 41.8 E 1002 25 Locally 30 kts S semi. 09 MAR 27 1200 23.1 S 41.1 E 1003 25 Locally 30 kts SE quad 09 MAR 27 1800 22.4 S 40.5 E 1004 20 Locally 25 kts S semi. 09 MAR 28 0000 22.1 S 40.1 E 1007 20 See Note 09 MAR 28 0600 21.8 S 39.4 E 1007 20 09 MAR 28 1200 21.8 S 38.9 E 1007 20 09 MAR 28 1800 21.5 S 38.3 E 1007 20 09 MAR 29 0000 21.4 S 37.9 E 1007 20 09 MAR 29 0600 20.8 S 36.3 E 1007 20 Note: The tracking information from 28/0000 UTC onward is based upon NRL KML data, and was sent to the author by Steve Young. ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - Longitude 90E to 135E Sources of Information ---------------------- The track coordinates as well as the central pressure and 10-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were obtained from warnings issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Perth, Western Australia, and Darwin, Northern Territory. The 1-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were taken from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The center position coordinates from JTWC were compared with those from the Australian centres and annotations made in the Remarks column when the differences in general amounted to 40-50 nm or more. Following is the link to the Wikipedia page for the 2008-2009 Australian Region Cyclone Season: Systems Tracked --------------- Tropical LOW GABRIELLE (16U / 17S) 01 - 05 Mar Severe Tropical Cyclone ILSA (18U / 22S) 17 - 27 Mar ************************************************************************* Storm Name: GABRIELLE Cyclone Number: 17S Basin: AUW (Name assigned by Perth TCWC - Australian LOW 16U) Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 01 0000 11.0 S 101.2 E 1000 30 09 MAR 01 0600 11.3 S 102.0 E 1000 30 Gales in N & W quads 09 MAR 01 1200 11.7 S 103.4 E 1000 30 " 09 MAR 01 1800 12.6 S 104.8 E 1000 30 " 09 MAR 02 0000 13.5 S 105.6 E 1000 35 30 " 09 MAR 02 0600 14.1 S 106.1 E 999 30 " 09 MAR 02 1200 14.2 S 106.3 E 998 35 40 09 MAR 02 1800 13.5 S 107.2 E 998 35 09 MAR 03 0000 13.5 S 107.7 E 998 30 35 09 MAR 03 0600 14.5 S 107.8 E 998 35 09 MAR 03 1200 14.6 S 107.5 E 998 35 35 JTWC: 15.0S/107.7E 09 MAR 03 1800 14.4 S 106.4 E 999 35 09 MAR 04 0000 14.7 S 105.6 E 1001 35 30 09 MAR 04 0600 16.0 S 104.9 E 1000 30 30 Some gales in S semi. 09 MAR 04 1200 16.5 S 103.5 E 1000 30 " 09 MAR 04 1800 17.0 S 102.1 E 1002 30 " 09 MAR 05 0000 17.0 S 100.3 E 1002 30 " 09 MAR 05 0600 18.5 S 98.9 E 1002 30 Some gales in SE quad 09 MAR 05 1200 19.7 S 97.2 E 1004 25 NRL KML data 09 MAR 05 1800 21.0 S 95.9 E 1005 25 Final gale warning Note: I have learned from Joe Courtney of BoM Perth that in post-analysis it was determined that Gabrielle did not meet the minimum requirements of a tropical cyclone by the Australian definition, which requires that gales extend more than halfway around the center for at least six hours. Gales were observed in one quadrant or another throughout most of Gabrielle's life, but at no one time did they extend more than halfway around the LLCC. Gabrielle will not be included as a cyclone event in BoM's Best Tracks file. ************************************************************************* Storm Name: ILSA Cyclone Number: 22S Basin: AUW (Name assigned by Perth TCWC - Australian LOW 18U) Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 17 0600 12.1 S 118.5 E 1006 25 09 MAR 17 1200 12.8 S 116.9 E 1002 30 09 MAR 17 1800 13.2 S 115.2 E 1002 30 09 MAR 18 0000 13.5 S 113.4 E 1000 35 35 09 MAR 18 0600 13.6 S 111.9 E 991 50 09 MAR 18 1200 13.8 S 110.8 E 984 50 60 09 MAR 18 1800 14.0 S 109.4 E 984 60 09 MAR 19 0000 15.2 S 109.0 E 976 65 70 09 MAR 19 0600 16.0 S 107.7 E 968 80 09 MAR 19 1200 16.3 S 106.8 E 958 100 90 09 MAR 19 1800 16.4 S 106.0 E 958 90 09 MAR 20 0000 16.2 S 105.2 E 966 110 80 09 MAR 20 0600 16.2 S 104.2 E 967 80 09 MAR 20 1200 15.9 S 103.7 E 966 85 80 09 MAR 20 1800 16.0 S 103.0 E 966 80 09 MAR 21 0000 16.0 S 102.4 E 966 85 80 09 MAR 21 0600 16.0 S 101.5 E 967 80 09 MAR 21 1200 16.1 S 100.9 E 966 75 80 JTWC: 16.0S/100.4E 09 MAR 21 1800 16.3 S 100.1 E 967 80 09 MAR 22 0000 16.2 S 99.7 E 970 65 75 09 MAR 22 0600 16.6 S 98.8 E 975 70 09 MAR 22 1200 16.9 S 98.0 E 981 65 65 09 MAR 22 1800 17.2 S 97.2 E 981 45 65 09 MAR 23 0000 17.3 S 95.7 E 992 50 09 MAR 23 0600 17.5 S 94.4 E 993 40 50 09 MAR 23 1200 18.0 S 93.3 E 996 45 09 MAR 23 1800 18.4 S 92.0 E 998 35 40 09 MAR 24 0000 19.3 S 90.1 E 1005 30 09 MAR 24 0600 19.7 S 89.2 E 1000 30 See Note 09 MAR 24 1200 20.2 S 87.9 E 1000 30 09 MAR 24 1800 20.3 S 86.1 E 1004 25 09 MAR 25 0000 20.9 S 84.7 E 1004 25 09 MAR 25 0600 21.6 S 83.5 E 1004 25 09 MAR 25 1200 22.1 S 81.7 E 1004 25 09 MAR 25 1800 23.2 S 80.6 E 1004 25 09 MAR 26 0000 23.8 S 79.9 E 1004 25 09 MAR 26 0600 24.0 S 79.3 E 1004 25 09 MAR 26 1200 24.6 S 77.8 E 1004 25 09 MAR 26 1800 24.9 S 77.0 E 1004 25 09 MAR 27 0000 25.4 S 75.9 E 1004 25 09 MAR 27 0600 25.9 S 75.8 E 1004 25 Note: The tracking information from 24/0600 UTC onward is based upon NRL KML data, and was sent to the author by Steve Young. ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - Longitude 135E to 160E Sources of Information ---------------------- The track coordinates as well as the central pressure and 10-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were obtained from warnings issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Darwin, Northern Territory; Brisbane, Queensland; and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The 1-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were taken from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The center position coordinates from JTWC were compared with those from the Australian centres and annotations made in the Remarks column when the differences in general amounted to 40-50 nm or more. For the portion of the track lying east of longitude 160E, the following applies: The track coordinates as well as the central pressure and 10-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were obtained from warnings issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Nadi, Fiji, and Wellington, New Zealand. The 1-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were taken from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The center position coordinates from JTWC were compared with those from the Southern Hemisphere centres and annotations made in the Remarks column when the differences in general amounted to 40-50 nm or more. Following is the link to the Wikipedia page for the 2008-2009 Australian Region Cyclone Season. A special detailed report for Tropical Cyclone Hamish is available. Systems Tracked --------------- Severe Tropical Cyclone HAMISH (17U / 18P) 05 - 13 Mar Tropical/Hybrid LOW (19U) 18 - 22 Mar Tropical Cyclone JASPER (20U / 23P / 13F) 22 - 26 Mar ************************************************************************* Storm Name: HAMISH Cyclone Number: 18P Basin: AUE (Name assigned by Brisbane TCWC - Australian LOW 17U) Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 05 0000 13.3 S 148.0 E 1004 25 09 MAR 05 0600 12.9 S 147.1 E 1000 30 09 MAR 05 1200 13.4 S 147.0 E 997 30 35 09 MAR 05 1800 13.8 S 147.0 E 988 50 09 MAR 06 0000 14.3 S 146.8 E 982 60 60 09 MAR 06 0600 14.9 S 146.6 E 982 60 09 MAR 06 1200 15.4 S 147.2 E 970 80 65 09 MAR 06 1800 16.2 S 147.7 E 966 80 09 MAR 07 0000 16.9 S 148.1 E 960 90 85 09 MAR 07 0600 17.9 S 148.8 E 950 100 09 MAR 07 1200 18.5 S 149.3 E 930 130 115 09 MAR 07 1800 19.2 S 149.9 E 925 115 09 MAR 08 0000 20.1 S 150.5 E 925 130 115 09 MAR 08 0600 20.8 S 150.8 E 950 90 09 MAR 08 1200 21.1 S 151.4 E 945 120 95 09 MAR 08 1800 21.4 S 151.9 E 945 95 09 MAR 09 0000 22.1 S 152.6 E 945 110 95 09 MAR 09 0600 22.8 S 153.2 E 945 95 09 MAR 09 1200 23.2 S 153.7 E 948 110 95 09 MAR 09 1800 23.7 S 154.1 E 946 95 09 MAR 10 0000 24.2 S 154.8 E 965 90 85 09 MAR 10 0600 24.7 S 155.6 E 965 85 09 MAR 10 1200 24.7 S 155.9 E 967 75 70 09 MAR 10 1800 24.7 S 156.0 E 967 70 09 MAR 11 0000 24.3 S 155.0 E 975 50 55 09 MAR 11 0600 23.5 S 154.9 E 985 50 09 MAR 11 1200 22.4 S 154.8 E 998 45 40 Considered ex-TC 09 MAR 11 1800 22.0 S 153.5 E 1002 40 09 MAR 11 2300 21.0 S 152.8 E 1000 25 33 JTWC: 21.8S/152.7E 09 MAR 12 0600 21.6 S 151.9 E 1004 25 See Note 09 MAR 12 1200 20.7 S 151.3 E 1004 25 09 MAR 12 1800 20.5 S 150.9 E 1004 25 09 MAR 13 0000 20.4 S 150.6 E 1004 25 09 MAR 13 0600 19.8 S 151.0 E 1004 25 09 MAR 13 1200 19.1 S 150.3 E 1004 25 Note: The tracking information from 12/0600 UTC onward is based upon NRL KML data, and was sent to the author by Steve Young. ************************************************************************* Storm Name: None Cyclone Number: None Basin: AUE/SPA (Australian LOW 19U) Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 18 2000 14.5 S 154.0 E 1001 25 Perip. gales W of cntr 09 MAR 19 0000 15.0 S 154.0 E 1002 25 " 09 MAR 19 0600 16.9 S 155.0 E 999 25 " 09 MAR 19 1200 17.4 S 154.9 E 999 25 " 09 MAR 19 1800 17.7 S 154.6 E 999 25 " 09 MAR 20 0000 17.3 S 153.0 E 1000 25 Associated gales 09 MAR 20 0600 17.1 S 153.5 E 1000 25 " 09 MAR 20 1200 18.0 S 154.9 E 1002 25 " 09 MAR 20 1800 18.4 S 155.8 E 1000 25 " 09 MAR 21 0000 18.5 S 156.0 E 1000 25 Scnd cntr: 21.5S/161.5E 09 MAR 21 0600 22.5 S 163.0 E 1000 40 See Note 09 MAR 21 1200 22.0 S 163.0 E 1000 40 09 MAR 21 1800 22.0 S 162.0 E 997 40 Re-located 09 MAR 22 0000 23.5 S 164.0 E 997 40 09 MAR 22 0600 24.5 S 169.5 E 997 40 Re-located 09 MAR 22 1200 25.0 S 172.7 E 997 40 Note: During the time this system was in Brisbane's AOR, I reported the MSW at 25 kts based upon the values given in the technical bulletins, which were issued as long as it was felt there was a chance of tropical cyclone genesis. Fiji also issued a gale warning at 21/0000 UTC, picking up the easternmost of the two centers and subsequently following this center. The 40-kt MSW values from 21/0600 UTC onward are taken from RSMC Nadi's warnings. Nadi referred to this system as a 'depression' as opposed to a 'tropical depression', likely implying hybrid features. No 'F' number was assigned this LOW by Fiji. ************************************************************************* Storm Name: JASPER Cyclone Number: 23P Basin: AUE/SPA (Name assigned by Brisbane TCWC - Australian LOW 20U - Fiji Number 13F) Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 22 1800 14.1 S 154.0 E 1001 30 09 MAR 23 0400 14.7 S 153.5 E 1001 30 09 MAR 23 0700 16.3 S 155.5 E 1001 30 09 MAR 23 1200 17.0 S 156.0 E 1003 30 09 MAR 23 1800 17.6 S 158.0 E 995 40 09 MAR 23 2200 17.3 S 158.7 E 985 50 Re-located 09 MAR 24 0000 17.3 S 159.2 E 35 Initial JTWC warning 09 MAR 24 0400 18.7 S 160.1 E 985 50 09 MAR 24 0600 19.2 S 160.4 E 980 55 Fiji warnings 09 MAR 24 1200 20.1 S 162.3 E 980 45 55 JTWC: 19.1S/160.8E 09 MAR 24 1800 21.3 S 163.2 E 980 55 09 MAR 25 0000 21.2 S 162.9 E 987 40 45 09 MAR 25 0600 21.2 S 163.2 E 995 35 09 MAR 25 0900 21.3 S 163.7 E 1000 30 Perip. gales S semi. 09 MAR 25 1200 21.5 S 163.6 E 30 Final JTWC warning 09 MAR 25 1800 22.5 S 165.0 E 1001 30 NRL: 21.2S/163.4E 09 MAR 26 0000 22.3 S 164.3 E 1001 30 Perip. gales S semi. 09 MAR 26 0600 22.3 S 164.3 E 1001 30 " 09 MAR 26 1200 20.6 S 163.3 E 1003 25 " 09 MAR 26 1800 20.0 S 163.0 E 1003 25 " ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E Sources of Information ---------------------- The track coordinates as well as the central pressure and 10-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were obtained from warnings issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Nadi, Fiji, and Wellington, New Zealand. The 1-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates were taken from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The center position coordinates from JTWC were compared with those from the Southern Hemisphere centres and annotations made in the Remarks column when the differences in general amounted to 40-50 nm or more. Following is the link to the Wikipedia page for the 2008-2009 South Pacific Cyclone Season. A special detailed report for Tropical Cyclone Joni is available. Systems Tracked --------------- Tropical Cyclone JONI (11F / 20P) 10 - 15 Mar Tropical Cyclone KEN (12F / 21P) 16 - 24 Mar ************************************************************************* Storm Name: JONI Cyclone Number: 20P Basin: SPA Fiji Tropical Disturbance Number: 11F Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 10 1800 20.0 S 157.5 W 1005 30 Perip. gales N to SE 09 MAR 11 0000 20.8 S 158.0 W 1002 30 Gales NW to E to S 09 MAR 11 0600 21.3 S 158.4 W 1000 35 30 Perip. gales E semi. 09 MAR 11 1200 21.6 S 158.6 W 995 35 09 MAR 11 1800 21.7 S 158.7 W 995 55 35 JTWC: 22.2S/158.4W 09 MAR 12 0000 22.8 S 158.8 W 990 40 09 MAR 12 0600 23.2 S 158.7 W 985 50 50 09 MAR 12 1200 23.9 S 158.9 W 985 50 09 MAR 12 1800 25.0 S 159.5 W 980 55 55 09 MAR 13 0000 25.6 S 159.3 W 980 55 Wellington warnings 09 MAR 13 0600 27.0 S 160.0 W 980 55 55 JTWC: 27.7S/159.2W 09 MAR 13 1200 28.1 S 158.7 W 980 55 09 MAR 13 1800 30.7 S 158.4 W 987 35 45 JTWC: 31.4S/159.0W 09 MAR 14 0000 34.0 S 159.0 W 992 50 Extratropical 09 MAR 14 0600 35.0 S 157.0 W 996 50 09 MAR 14 1200 37.0 S 156.0 W 1000 40 09 MAR 14 1800 40.0 S 150.0 W 1009 40 09 MAR 15 0000 42.0 S 143.0 W 1007 35 ************************************************************************* Storm Name: KEN Cyclone Number: 21P Basin: SPA Fiji Tropical Disturbance Number: 12F Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks (GMT) Press 1-min 10-min (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 MAR 16 2100 21.0 S 163.1 W 1002 30 09 MAR 17 0000 20.7 S 163.1 W 1000 30 09 MAR 17 0600 21.7 S 162.3 W 995 35 09 MAR 17 1200 22.2 S 162.3 W 990 35 40 09 MAR 17 1800 22.4 S 163.3 W 990 40 09 MAR 18 0000 22.8 S 163.2 W 990 35 40 JTWC: 22.8S/162.7W 09 MAR 18 0600 23.5 S 162.1 W 987 45 09 MAR 18 1200 23.9 S 161.5 W 987 35 45 09 MAR 18 1800 24.7 S 161.0 W 985 50 09 MAR 19 0000 25.6 S 159.8 W 987 45 45 Wellington warnings 09 MAR 19 0600 27.5 S 158.9 W 987 45 09 MAR 19 1200 28.7 S 157.3 W 985 50 09 MAR 19 1800 31.2 S 155.5 W 987 45 09 MAR 20 0000 34.0 S 153.0 W 992 50 Extratropical 09 MAR 20 0600 39.0 S 153.0 W 992 40 09 MAR 20 1200 42.0 S 147.0 W 988 40 09 MAR 20 1800 44.0 S 145.0 W 975 50 09 MAR 21 0000 44.0 S 141.0 W 975 50 09 MAR 21 0600 44.0 S 136.0 W 975 50 09 MAR 21 1200 45.0 S 131.0 W 974 50 09 MAR 21 1800 45.0 S 125.0 W 973 50 09 MAR 22 0000 44.0 S 120.0 W 973 50 See Note 09 MAR 22 1200 53.0 S 99.0 W 09 MAR 23 0000 57.0 S 90.0 W 09 MAR 23 1200 62.0 S 83.0 W 09 MAR 24 0000 65.0 S 77.0 W 09 MAR 24 1200 68.0 S 68.0 W Note: Longitude 120W marks the eastern boundary of Wellington's AOR. The ex-Ken extratropical LOW was barrelling eastward at 60 kts as it exited Wellington's AOR. Positions after 22/0000 UTC were sent to the author by Steve Young and were estimated from BoM analysis available at http://www.bom.gov.au/nmoc/MSL/index.shtml. ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* SOURCES OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION The purpose of this section is to list some websites where many and varied types of tropical cyclone information are archived. Many readers will know about these already, but for the benefit of those who don't, I wanted to include them. (1) Aircraft Reconnaissance Information --------------------------------------- Various types of messages from reconnaissance aircraft may be retrieved from the following FTP site: Information regarding how to interpret the coded reconnaissance messages may be found at the following URL: Links are also included to websites with further information about the U. S. Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the NOAA Air- craft Operations Center. (2) Archived Advisories ----------------------- All the advisory products (public advisories, forecast/advisories, strike probabilities, discussions, various graphics) issued by TPC/NHC are archived on TPC's website. For the current year (using 2004 as an example), the archived products can be found at: Links to tropical products archives for earlier years are available at the following URL: JTWC warnings for past storms are archived on the NRL Monterrey website: On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left corner of the screen. I am not aware at the moment of any other TCWC which archives all its tropical cyclone warning/advisory products for public access, but if I learn of any, I will add them to this list. (3) Satellite Imagery --------------------- Satellite images of tropical cyclones in various sensor bands are available on the NRL Monterrey and University of Wisconsin websites, courtesy of Jeff Hawkins and Chris Velden and their associates. The links are: On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left corner of the screen. For the CIMSS site, a link to data archives is located in the lower left portion of the screen. Additional tropical satellite imagery, along with looping ability for composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the equator, can be found at: (1) For the Eastern North Pacific: (2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea: (4) Cyclone Tracking Information -------------------------------- There is a U. S. Navy site that tracks tropical cyclones at 6-hourly intervals which often includes pre and post-advisory positions. The link to the site is: Steve Young has compiled many of these tracks onto a single webpage which is very user-friendly: *************************************************************************** ************************************************************************* !!!!!! IMPORTANT NOTE - PLEASE READ !!!!!! To repeat the caveat which is included in the Author's Note at the end of the cyclone summaries--the tropical cyclone tracks I prepare are based upon the operational warnings/advisories/ advices/bulletins which are issued by the various tropical cyclone warning agencies around the world. Users of these tracks should be aware that they are preliminary and subject to revision during post-seasonal analyses of the cyclones by the forecasters and analysts at the several warning centers. For the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific basins, official tropical cyclone reports and "best tracks" can be found at the website of the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov> The Joint Typhoon Warning Center's website contains links to their Annual Tropical Cyclone Reports which include that agency's "best tracks" for tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific basin, the North Indian Ocean, and the Southern Hemisphere: https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php> SPECIAL NOTE: Back issues of the global tropical cyclone summaries and monthly cyclone track files can be obtained at the following websites: ftp://ftp.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/pub/landsea/padgett/> http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/> http://www.typhoon2000.ph/archives.htm> http://mpittweather.com> PREPARED BY: Gary Padgett garyp@alaweb.com SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS BY: Michael V. Padua supertyphoon@gmail.com webmaster@typhoon2000.ph ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* Posted: 07.21.09 / Typhoon2000.ph, Typhoon2000.com