MONTY

History

Tropical Cyclone Monty was a late-season system that developed in the monsoon trough over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, west of Darwin, on 6 April 1993. The tropical low drifted west-southwestward across the northern Kimberley, tracking close to but generally seaward of the coast, and gradually became better organised over the following two days. It reached tropical cyclone intensity on 8 April in the vicinity of Broome and was named Monty by the Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Perth.

Steered by a mid-level ridge positioned over inland Australia, Monty maintained a west-southwesterly heading that carried it roughly parallel to the Pilbara coastline, remaining approximately 150 to 250 kilometres offshore. Passing over the warm waters of the North West Shelf, the system strengthened to Category 2 on the Australian scale on 9 April. Peak intensity was attained about 200 kilometres north of Port Hedland, with a minimum central pressure near 975 hPa, maximum ten-minute sustained winds of roughly 100 km/h (55 knots) and gusts estimated at 140 km/h.

Monty's decline was rapid. An upper-level trough approaching from the west introduced strong southerly to westerly vertical wind shear on 11 April, which displaced the deep convection away from the low-level centre. The cyclone fell below tropical cyclone strength late that day and degenerated into a shallow low-level circulation over open water northwest of Exmouth on 12 April.

Because Monty's path took it directly along the North West Shelf, offshore oil and gas operators activated precautionary cyclone procedures, evacuating non-essential personnel and temporarily suspending production at some facilities. Onshore impacts were minor, as the centre never approached the mainland closely. Outer rainbands brought squally showers, gale-force gusts and rough seas to coastal centres including Karratha, Dampier and Port Hedland, but there was no significant coastal inundation or structural damage. No deaths or injuries were attributed to the system.

Monty was among the final systems of the below-average 1992–93 Australian region cyclone season.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia