Tropical Cyclones (continued)

Bob Lourensz's summary records that the Warren years saw about seven destructive tropical cyclones cross the north-west coast of WA while one visited Cairns; that seven severe cyclones crossed the NW coast and one visited Brisbane during the Timcke years; and that during the Dwyer years seven crossed the north-west coast and the same number crossed the Queensland coast. I should emphasise that there were other tropical cyclones recorded by Bob in these periods but I have used the rough criterion of a central pressure below 990 mb as indicating a destructive cyclone.

We have seen that the occurrence of tropical cyclones along the Queensland coast excited more political and general public interest than those in the north-west although Bob Lourensz's survey showed that the latter area is significantly more prone to visits from tropical cyclones. The higher frequency of cyclone occurrences on the Queensland coast in the years 1955 to 1962 resulted in considerable pressure from Queensland voters for the Commonwealth Government to improve cyclone warnings. The Bureau's performance in providing warnings of tropical cyclones had been commendable, although the absence of tropical cyclone reconnaissance aircraft (such as those employed out of Miami in the US) made the task of detection and tracking more difficult.

George Mackey and 'Doc' Hogan in Perth had developed the best possible warning service and young Bob Southern had become acquainted with the task of cyclone warning while serving in the Perth Divisional Office from 1949 to 1959.

Bureau of Meteorology