Cyclone Bobby; An Introduction

28^th September 1995

Cyclone Bobby was a severe tropical cyclone that hit Western Australia in February 1995. Bobby was located at latitude of 21.3 degrees S and a longitude of 115.6 degrees E. it hit a coastal town named Onslow, near Exmouth more than 1000 km north from Perth. 8 lives were lost in this horrific cyclone and 20 homes destroyed. The estimated cost to fix all the damage received from this cyclone was $11 million.

Cyclone Bobby's trail along the western coast

This cyclone reached a category 4 as it passed along the coast. The cyclone started up north near Darwin on the 18^th of February and slowly made its way down the coast avoiding land until near Onslow on the Pilbara coast on the 25^th of February where it reached category 4 and did some huge damage. Later it continued in land but with less damage till the 27^th of February.

Cyclone Bobby picked up wind speeds of up to 270 km per hour and brought enormous amounts of rain. There was more than 400mm of rain in Onslow accompanying Cyclone Bobby. This disaster also brought about some flooding due to the rain. The lowest estimated air pressure was 925 hPa.

Birds eye view of Cyclone Bobby