Cyclone Bobby

Severe Tropical Cyclone Bobby set numerous monthly rainfall records in parts of the Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia, dropping up to 400 mm (16 in) of rain in February 1995.

The fourth named storm of the 1994–95 Australian region cyclone season, Bobby developed as a tropical low embedded within a monsoon trough situated north of the Northern Territory coastline on 19 February.

The storm gradually drifted southwestward and later southward under low wind shear, strengthening enough to be assigned the name Bobby by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).

The storm rapidly deepened as it approached the coast of Western Australia, and attained its peak intensity of 925 mbar (hPa; 27.32 inHg) at 0900 UTC on 24 February with 10-minute maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph).

After making landfall as a somewhat weaker cyclone near Onslow, the remnants of Bobby drifted southeastward, gradually weakening, before dissipating over the southern reaches of Western Australia.

[2] The cyclone continued to trek southward under the influence of a northeast-moving frontal system,[6] and made landfall near Onslow at 1800 UTC on 25 February with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 952 mbar (hPa; 28.11 inHg).

[9] Many other airports, roads, and ports along the Western Australian shoreline were also shut down prior to Bobby's landfall, including the North West Coastal Highway between Onslow and Karratha.

The 61,000-tonne ship Bulk Azores ran aground at Kendrew Island near Dampier while transporting iron ore, though no spillage was noted and the vessel resumed its journey shortly thereafter.

While the North Rankin A and Goodwyn oil platforms were in the path of Bobby, both facilities escaped damage, and in fact drilled considerably higher amounts as a result of increased demand for gas from utilities on land.

[12] The Eyre Highway reopened on 5 March after police, road crews, and SES workers cleared out a jam involving more than 1500 individuals affected by the roadway's flooding.

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone , remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression