FRANK
1995-96 season · AU199596_03U
History
Severe Tropical Cyclone Frank originated from a low pressure system in the monsoon trough just south of Bali on 6 December 1995, making it the first tropical cyclone to develop off the northwest coast of Australia during the 1995–96 season. Driven by a strong northwest monsoon surge, the system tracked southeast and reached tropical cyclone intensity on 7 December. A mid-level ridge then directed Frank southwest and south-southwest, carrying it on a path roughly parallel to the Western Australian coastline.
Frank reached its peak intensity as a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone on the morning of 10 December, recording a minimum central pressure of 950 hPa and maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h. On 11 December the system passed approximately 70 kilometres west of North West Cape before weakening rapidly due to cooler waters and increased wind shear. It fell below cyclone strength on 12 December, and its remnants made landfall as a tropical low near Carnarvon around midnight on 13 December before dissipating inland.
Although Frank remained largely offshore, it brought destructive winds and heavy rainfall to parts of the Pilbara and Gascoyne coasts. The Learmonth Meteorological Office recorded a peak gust of 111 km/h, and Exmouth experienced roof, fence, and tree damage. The Bureau of Meteorology noted Frank as one of only three tropical cyclones since 1876 to produce gales at North West Cape before Christmas.
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia
View full track data (86 observations)
| Date/Time (UTC) | Category | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-12-06 04:00:00 | 1 | -10.4, 116.8 | 1005 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 06:00:00 | 1 | -10.5, 116.9 | 1003 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 07:00:00 | 1 | -10.5, 117.0 | 1003 hPa | 10 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 10:00:00 | 1 | -10.7, 117.3 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 12:00:00 | 1 | -10.8, 117.5 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 13:00:00 | 1 | -10.9, 117.6 | 1002 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 16:00:00 | 1 | -11.1, 117.9 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 18:00:00 | 1 | -11.2, 118.0 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 19:00:00 | 1 | -11.3, 118.1 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-06 22:00:00 | 1 | -11.5, 118.5 | 996 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 00:00:00 | 1 | -11.7, 118.6 | 996 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 01:00:00 | 1 | -11.8, 118.7 | 996 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 04:00:00 | 1 | -12.3, 118.8 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 06:00:00 | 1 | -12.5, 118.8 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 07:00:00 | 1 | -12.6, 118.8 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 10:00:00 | 1 | -12.9, 118.7 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 12:00:00 | 1 | -13.0, 118.6 | 991 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 13:00:00 | 1 | -13.1, 118.6 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 16:00:00 | 1 | -13.4, 118.4 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 18:00:00 | 1 | -13.5, 118.3 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 19:00:00 | 1 | -13.6, 118.2 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1995-12-07 22:00:00 | 1 | -13.8, 117.9 | 985 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 00:00:00 | 1 | -14.0, 117.8 | 985 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 01:00:00 | 1 | -14.1, 117.7 | 985 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 04:00:00 | 1 | -14.3, 117.5 | 985 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 06:00:00 | 1 | -14.6, 117.4 | 981 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 07:00:00 | 1 | -14.7, 117.3 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 10:00:00 | 1 | -15.1, 117.0 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 12:00:00 | 1 | -15.3, 116.9 | 976 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 13:00:00 | 1 | -15.4, 116.8 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 16:00:00 | 1 | -15.6, 116.6 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 18:00:00 | 1 | -15.8, 116.5 | 970 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 19:00:00 | 1 | -15.9, 116.4 | 970 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1995-12-08 22:00:00 | 1 | -16.2, 116.2 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 00:00:00 | 1 | -16.4, 116.1 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 01:00:00 | 1 | -16.5, 116.0 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 04:00:00 | 1 | -17.0, 115.7 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 06:00:00 | 1 | -17.2, 115.7 | 961 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 07:00:00 | 1 | -17.3, 115.7 | 960 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 10:00:00 | 1 | -17.7, 115.6 | 955 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 12:00:00 | 1 | -18.0, 115.5 | 955 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 13:00:00 | 1 | -18.1, 115.4 | 955 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 16:00:00 | 1 | -18.4, 115.3 | 955 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 18:00:00 | 1 | -18.5, 115.2 | 955 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 19:00:00 | 1 | -18.6, 115.2 | 955 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1995-12-09 22:00:00 | 1 | -18.9, 115.1 | 950 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 00:00:00 | 1 | -19.2, 115.0 | 950 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 01:00:00 | 1 | -19.3, 114.9 | 950 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 04:00:00 | 1 | -19.6, 114.7 | 950 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 06:00:00 | 1 | -19.7, 114.6 | 950 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 07:00:00 | 1 | -19.8, 114.6 | 950 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 10:00:00 | 1 | -20.0, 114.5 | 955 hPa | 49 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 12:00:00 | 1 | -20.1, 114.4 | 958 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 13:00:00 | 1 | -20.1, 114.3 | 960 hPa | 46 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 16:00:00 | 1 | -20.2, 114.2 | 965 hPa | 44 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 18:00:00 | 1 | -20.3, 114.2 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 19:00:00 | 1 | -20.4, 114.2 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1995-12-10 22:00:00 | 1 | -20.7, 114.1 | 965 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 00:00:00 | 1 | -20.8, 114.0 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 01:00:00 | 1 | -20.9, 113.9 | 965 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 04:00:00 | 1 | -21.1, 113.7 | 965 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 06:00:00 | 1 | -21.3, 113.5 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 07:00:00 | 1 | -21.4, 113.4 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 10:00:00 | 1 | -21.7, 113.2 | 965 hPa | 41 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 12:00:00 | 1 | -21.8, 113.1 | 968 hPa | 39 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 13:00:00 | 1 | -21.9, 113.0 | 970 hPa | 36 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 16:00:00 | 1 | -22.1, 112.9 | 970 hPa | 33 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 18:00:00 | 1 | -22.3, 112.8 | 973 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 19:00:00 | 1 | -22.4, 112.8 | 975 hPa | 31 km/h |
| 1995-12-11 22:00:00 | 1 | -22.7, 112.8 | 980 hPa | 28 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 00:00:00 | 1 | -22.8, 112.8 | 983 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 01:00:00 | 1 | -22.9, 112.8 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 04:00:00 | 1 | -23.2, 112.8 | 985 hPa | 26 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 06:00:00 | 1 | -23.5, 112.9 | 988 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 07:00:00 | 1 | -23.6, 112.9 | 990 hPa | 23 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 10:00:00 | 1 | -24.0, 113.1 | 990 hPa | 21 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 12:00:00 | 1 | -24.3, 113.2 | 993 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 13:00:00 | 1 | -24.5, 113.3 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 16:00:00 | 1 | -24.9, 113.6 | 995 hPa | 18 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 18:00:00 | 1 | -25.2, 113.7 | 997 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 19:00:00 | 1 | -25.4, 113.8 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-12 22:00:00 | 1 | -25.8, 114.1 | 998 hPa | 15 km/h |
| 1995-12-13 00:00:00 | 3 | -26.1, 114.3 | 999 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1995-12-13 01:00:00 | 2 | -26.2, 114.4 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1995-12-13 06:00:00 | 2 | -27.0, 115.3 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |
| 1995-12-13 07:00:00 | 2 | -27.2, 115.5 | 1000 hPa | 13 km/h |