User:ChocolateTrain/Cyclone Blake (2020)
A weak tropical cyclone that affected Western Australia during January 2020. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tropical Cyclone Blake was a weak tropical cyclone that affected Western Australia during early January 2020. It was the first tropical low and first tropical cyclone of the 2019–20 Australian region cyclone season. Blake developed from a tropical low that formed in a monsoon trough south of Indonesia on 4 January. Atmospheric conditions in the region were favourable for development, and allowed the low to strengthen while tracking somewhat erratically towards the Kimberley coastline. The system was upgraded to a tropical cyclone on 6 January and quickly reached its peak intensity before making landfall on Dampier Peninsula at 5 p.m. local time. Blake re-emerged over water six hours later; however, the time spent over land had degraded the cyclone's structure considerably, resulting in weakening. Blake gradually restrengthened while tracking towards the southwest, although its proximity to the coast once again hampered development. On 7 January, Blake made its final landfall on Eighty Mile Beach near the Wallal Downs cattle station, just before midnight local time. The system weakened to a tropical low shortly after crossing the coast. Ex-Tropical Cyclone Blake proceeded to move south-southeastwards across central Western Australia over the following days.
Category 1 tropical cyclone (Aus scale) | |
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tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
![]() Blake at peak intensity near the coast of the Dampier Peninsula on 6 January | |
Formed | 4 January 2020 |
Dissipated | 8 January 2020 |
Highest winds | 10-minute sustained: 75 km/h (45 mph) 1-minute sustained: 95 km/h (60 mph) Gusts: 100 km/h (65 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 986 hPa (mbar); 29.12 inHg |
Fatalities | None |
Damage | Minor |
Areas affected | Western Australia |
Part of the 2019–20 Australian region cyclone season | |
Reaching tropical cyclone intensity only on 6 January, Blake was the latest-forming first tropical cyclone in an Australian season since Stan in the 2015–16 season.