Tropical Cyclone 04B has strengthened and been renamed "Helen" as it slowly nears landfall in southeastern India. Tropical Cyclone Hellen over the Mozambique Channel, northwest of Madagascar, as captured by the AVHRR instrument onboard EUMETSAT's Metop-B satellite (06:10 UTC 30/03/14). Widespread 100-200 mm rainfall totals over the weekend of 4-6 January caused some rivers across the western Top End to rise. [1] Near where the storm made landfall, wind gusts up to 120 km/h (75 mph) were recorded; Darwin recorded a maximum wind gust of 102 km/h (63 mph) as Helen moved by the city. Helen Willetts has the details. Hellen developed during the week of March 23 in the Mozambique Channel, the body of water that lies between the island nation of Madagascar and Mozambique on … [7] The George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens and Territory Wildlife Park were also closed for the duration of the storm. [13] Losses caused by the storm was placed at A$1.3 million (US$1.1 million). As a tropical cyclone, Helen produced significant wind gusts across the Top End, peaking at 120 km/h (75 mph), downing thousands of trees. Aerial searches were made later that day for him,[11] though he was later declared dead. Satellite images and tracking maps of Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Hellen 2014, March 27 - … A low that formed over the Top End and moved over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and intensified to cyclone intensity on 4 January and recurved towards the Northern Territory coast. NASA and the Japan Aerospace … Generally tracking westward, the system eventually intensified into a tropical cyclone and was given the name Helen on 2 January. When this Meteosat-10 Convection RGB image was acquired, Hellen had average wind speeds of 233 km/h (145 mph), equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. Late on 4 January, the storm made landfall near Channel Point with winds of 95 km/h (60 mph) though rapidly weakened to a tropical low within 12 hours. Due to an increase in forward motion, the system was unable to regenerate sufficient convection to be reclassified a tropical cyclone before making a second landfall along the Cape York Peninsula. The storm struck in a fairly sparsely settled part of Australia: the only major city, Darwin, is 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Channel Point, where the Category 2 storm ultimately came ashore. On Nov. 20 at 1200 UTC/7 a.m. EST, Tropical Cyclone Helen … Gradually accelerating, the remnants of Helen moved over the Gulf of Carpentaria before striking land again on 6 January. Helen was the eighth tropical cyclone of the 1973/74 season to develop in the Western Australian Region; and it was the fifth to have some direct effect on the Australian continent. [nb 1][18] Due to the damage wrought by Helen, its name was retired following its usage. A TROPICAL low moving off the West Australian and Northern Territory coasts has been named Cyclone Helen. There were a few houses that suffered damage from trees falling on them. [1][3] Prior to the arrival of Cyclone Helen on 4 January, the Bureau of Meteorology issued cyclone warnings for areas between the Mitchell Plateau, in Western Australia, to Cape Hotham in the Northern Territory. 400 evacuated in Mayotte 170 homes destroyed in Madagascar 910 displaced The fourth named storm of the 2007–08 Australian region cyclone season, Helen developed out of a weak area of low pressure in late December over the Top End region of Australia. On 30 March, Hellen was a severe tropical cyclone situated over the Mozambique Channel, northwest of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Time of This Image: 2014-03-30 18:00. For more details see the TC Helen Report (pdf), This page was created at 22:25 on Friday 25 December 2020 (UTC), © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2020, Bureau of Meteorology (ABN 92 637 533 532) | CRICOS Provider 02015K | Disclaimer | Privacy | Accessibility. Tropical Cyclone Hellen This Meteosat-10 image, acquired at 10:00 UTC on 30 March 2014, shows Cyclone Hellen over Madagascar. [2], Around 10:00 pm local time on 4 January, the centre of Tropical Cyclone Helen made landfall near Channel Point. Hellen rapidly intensified from a 60 kt (70 mph) tropical storm to a 130 kt (150 mph) Category-4 tropical cyclone in 18 hours (satellite-based)! Weather Underground provides tracking maps, 5-day forecasts, computer models, satellite imagery and detailed storm statistics for tracking and forecasting Tropical Cyclone Hellen Tracker. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of Cyclone 04B (Helen) on November 21, 2013. Posted by Jamie and Alissa on March 31, 2014 in Blog, Uncategorized | 1 comment (11:30am Monday morning- Madagascar time) If you can’t see it… we’re that massive island (the world’s 4th largest in fact) underneath this storm! On 4 January, a car with three people was swept away by the river; two of the passengers managed to escape and swim to shore, but the third person remained trapped. tropical cyclone (tc) 03s (three), located approximately 53 nm south-southeast of port hedland, australia, has tracked southeastward at 24 knots over the past six hours. In the days following the storm's passage, the Adelaide and Katherine rivers continued to rise, of which the former exceeded minor flood levels. By this time, it was situated over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and was beginning to retrograde eastward. Winds peaked around 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour) late on January 4. Current Active Cyclones; Archive. The maximum recorded wind gust was 120 km/h at Charles Point Lighthouse, while Darwin experienced a maximum wind gust of … Winds in Darwin were enough to uproot or snap many trees. [10], Throughout the Top End region, the precursor to Helen resulted in a prolonged period of moderate rains over a relatively large area. [9] Darwin Harbour was mostly shut down as seas became too rough to sail in. [16] Two days after the storm, 500 homes remained without electricity and frustrated residents were further angered after discovering that the Power and Water agency was in control of tree removal and not emergency services. Our city is the “pin mark” in the NW corner of the picture. [5] At the Darwin International Airport, all incoming and outgoing flights through Jetstar Airways were cancelled while Tiger Airways rescheduled their flights and no changes were made by Qantas. Roughly 10-15% of trees in open areas were snapped or uprooted by high winds. The cyclone was weakening as it moved northwest and was expected to make landfall in the state of Andhra Pradesh as a tropical storm or category 1 cyclone overnight on November 21–22. [4] Mining at the Ranger Uranium Mine maintained by Energy Resources of Australia was also suspended until the storm passed. Residents with trees in their yards or even on their homes were told to contact private contractors to remove them. The following day, the interaction between the two systems allowed the low to significantly deepen, attaining a barometric pressure of 993 mbar (hPa; 29.32 inHg). 2020 Season; 2019 Season; 2018 Season; 2017 Season; 2016 Season; 2015 Season; 2014 Season; 2013 Season; 2012 Season; 2011 Season; ... Multiplatform Tropical Cyclone MSLP and Maximum Winds. According to local officials, flooding was the greatest concern from the storm rather than wind damage. Tropical Cyclone Helen was the first tropical cyclone to bring gale-force winds to Darwin, Australia since 1985. These rains caused the Victoria River to swell over its banks and flood nearby areas. It continued to weaken as it crossed a section of … The storm, which hit Fiji on Thursday with heavy rain and strong winds, is now heading for the Pacific island of Tonga. [4] The warning area was later condensed to encompass areas from Wadeye to Cape Hotham, including Darwin and the Tiwi Islands. Tropical cyclone HELLEN formed in the Mozambique channel northwest of Madagascar on March 28, 2014. Tropical Cyclone Hellen. No tropical cyclone wind signals were raised. Tropical Cyclone Hellen formed in the Mozambique Channel northwest of Madagascar on March 28, 2014. Tropical Cyclone Hellen (Southwest Indian Ocean) radically intensified over the weekend and reached wind speeds of up to 232 km/h (144 mph) and wind gusts up to 278 km/h (172 mph). [17] Cleanup efforts dragged on for more than two months as debris was still present in Darwin in March. [8] Following the issuance of a cyclone warning in Darwin, local shelters were opened to the public. Approximately 1,500 trees were downed in the city, falling on roads, homes and power lines. [1] Once overland again, the remnants of Helen abruptly slowed and were last noted on 7 January in the same region. Only two structures sustained direct wind damage while several others were struck by downed trees. [2], Starting in late December, widespread rains produced by the precursor to Helen prompted the issuance of flood warnings throughout the Top End region. However, it was not replaced by any particular name as a new naming scheme was implemented the following season. This strengthening was short-lived as wind shear over the low increased, displacing convection from its centre. Tropical Cyclone Helen or 10S (for the tenth storm in the southern Indian Ocean) at 6:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. EST) on January 4, was located 120 miles west-southwest of Darwin, Australia, near 13.2 south latitude and 128.9 degrees east longitude. 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