2022–23 Australian region cyclone season

During October 2022, Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), New Zealand's MetService, and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) issued its tropical cyclone outlook for the 2022–23 season.

Ellie then later crossed the Northern Territory coast, making landfall at a sparsely populated location southwest of Daly River at 13:30 UTC (11:00 pm ACST).

Another tropical low formed and was named Herman, which rapidly intensified to a Category 5 on the AUS scale with a warm and well-defined eye.

The cyclone rapidly intensified due to jet interaction and peaked as a Category 5 both on the AUS and SSHWS scales before making landfall northeast of Port Hedland.

On 26 July, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) reported that a tropical low had formed due to an increase in monsoonal storm activity during the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO).

[5] By 15:00 UTC on 28 July, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) for the disturbance.

[23] The system was located in a favorable environment, with sea surface temperatures ranging from 28 to 30 degrees Celsius, and the JTWC issued their first warning on the storm six hours later as Tropical Cyclone 01S.

[35] On 13 December, the BoM reported that Tropical Low 05U had formed approximately 170 km (110 mi) north of Cocos Islands, initially forecast to not develop further due to not conducive conditions.

[37] At 11:30 UTC on 17 December, satellite imagery showed a partially exposed low-level center embedded in deep convection, prompting the JTWC's to issue a TCFA.

[43] Darian then strengthened to a Category 3 equivalent cyclone on the SSHWS in an environment of low wind shear, warm sea surface temperatures and good upper-level poleward outflow, which led to the storm having a symmetric 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi) eye.

[49] During late December, a strong pulse of the MJO tracked eastwards across the equatorial Indian Ocean, and approached Australian longitudes.

[55] By 09:00 UTC, the JTWC subsequently designated the storm as Tropical Cyclone 06S, citing that convection quickly became better organized and more concentrated around the broad center.

[57] Ellie then later crossed the Northern Territory (NT) coast, making landfall at a sparsely populated location southwest of Daly River at 13:30 UTC (11:00 pm ACST).

Defence personnel were deployed to the Kimberley region in WA, three RAAF aircraft were provided to evacuate residents, and five helicopters were despatched to help with the crisis.

[67] Hardship payments were made by the state, territory and Commonwealth governments,[61] and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised "massive infrastructure investment" when he visited the area afterwards.

[69] By 31 December, the BoM noted the potential of a tropical low forming over the Coral Sea, as the monsoon was forecast to strengthen further over the region.

[74] With a favorable environment of low wind shear, warm sea surface temperatures, and good radial outflow, the system intensified into a tropical cyclone late on the same day according to the JTWC, and designating it as 07P.

[80] The tropical low moved generally westwards,[81] and was last noted on 26 January while being located about 470 km (290 mi) west-northwest of Kalumburu.

[82] On 3 February, Tropical Low 11U developed close to the Australian Area of Responsibility (AOR) boundary and headed west toward Cocos Islands.

[88] On 4 February, the BoM reported that a Tropical Low 13U had formed during an active phase of the MJO in conjunction with an equatorial Rossby wave,[89] while it was situated to the south of the Indonesian archipelago.

[91] Deep convection increased and the system became a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale by 12:00 UTC; the BoM assigned it the name Freddy.

[89][92] Freddy then rapidly intensified and developed an eye feature on microwave imagery, leading the JTWC to classify it as having near-equivalent intensity around 15:00 UTC on 7 February.

[19] After its first peak, the system became increasingly susceptible to wind shear and dry air intrusion,[93] causing Freddy to weaken back into a minimal tropical storm by 09:00 UTC on 9 February.

[89] Consequently, the cyclone quickly restrengthened with the storm becoming a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone—attaining an initial peak intensity with winds of 150 km/h (90 mph)—and at 18:00 UTC on 11 February, Freddy reached its second peak intensity as a high-end Category 4 severe tropical cyclone in the Australian basin, with winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) and a central barometric pressure of 951 hPa (28.08 inHg).

[100] By 03:00 UTC on 8 February, the JTWC initiated advisories on the system and classified it as Tropical Cyclone 12P, when the fragmented banding was wrapping broadly into the exposed consolidating LLC.

[108] The JTWC had also begun monitoring the disturbance, which the agency classified it by the code identifier Invest 91P, and gave it a low chance for development.

[114] The main highway connecting Western Australia and the Northern Territory was closed due to flooding caused by heavy rains in rivers and on roadways.

[114] Record-breaking flooding in northwest Queensland led to evacuations and severely inundated numerous rural residences as well as certain towns, including Burketown, Urandangi, and Camooweal.

[114] On 24 February, the BoM reported that a weak tropical low which they classified as 17U was located over land to the south of the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf.

[149] A record-breaking ten-minute sustained wind speed of 218 km/h (135 mph) was measured at Bedout Island, beating the previous record of Cyclone George in 2007.

Three tropical systems near Australia on 8 February 2023. From left to right, they are: Tropical Low 11U (later Dingani), Severe Tropical Cyclone Freddy, and Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle.