FRAN

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Fran developed from an area of convergence that approached the French territory of Wallis on 4 March 1992. A circulation formed within the disturbance and the Fiji Meteorological Service began tracking it as a shallow tropical depression, which steadily organised as a mid-level ridge steered it south-southwestwards between Wallis and Futuna. At 18:00 UTC on 5 March the system reached gale force and was named Fran, and it continued to strengthen as it tracked towards Vanuatu, passing roughly 400 km north of Suva, Fiji, on 7 March as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone.

Fran reached its peak on 8 March, with the Fiji Meteorological Service assessing 10-minute sustained winds of 205 km/h — Category 5 on the Australian scale — while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated 1-minute winds of 260 km/h, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. On 9 March the cyclone threaded between Efate and Erromango in Vanuatu before emerging into the Coral Sea, where increasing wind shear began to erode it. It passed north of New Caledonia on 10 March as a Category 4 system and crossed 160°E into the Australian region on 11 March, when the Bureau of Meteorology assumed warning responsibility. Fran then slowed and moved erratically toward Queensland, weakening to Category 2 by 14 March. It crossed the coast near the town of 1770 at about 04:00 AEST on 16 March, degenerating over land before recurving southeast into the Coral Sea and transitioning to an extratropical low, whose remnants passed over Norfolk Island and were last noted on 21 March.

Fran was blamed for five deaths across its long track. Wallis and Futuna recorded over 550 mm of rain and wind damage to roofs, trees and utilities. On Efate, 130 homes lost their roofs and Port Vila was without power and water for days, while Erromango suffered crop and housing damage. New Caledonia experienced flooding and landslides, with 220 km/h winds measured at Poum. In Queensland, flooding hit two rivers, about 17 houses were unroofed near Bundaberg, and damage totalled A$8–10 million. The name Fran was subsequently retired.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia