Fake 2008-09 Australian region cyclone season

The 2007-08 Australian region cyclone season got off to an early start with the formation on 27 July of the first Tropical Cyclone which was not upgraded operationally to a cyclone but was later upgraded to a Cyclone during post storm analysis. This was the second time that a tropical Cyclone had formed during the month of July. The other one was Cyclone Lindsay in the 1996-1997 season. The next cyclone that formed was Cyclone Guba which formed on 13 November with TCWC Port Moresby assigning the name Guba on 14 November which was the first named storm within TCWC Port Moresby’s area of responsibility since Cyclone Epi in June 2003. Guba was also the first cyclone to occur in the Queensland region in the month of November since 1977.

Tropical Cyclone Lee also formed on 13 November and was named by TCWC Perth on 14 November with it moving into RSMC La Reunion's area of responsibility and being renamed Ariel. The next Cyclone to form within the Australian region was Melanie which formed on 27 December and was named on the 28th by TCWC Perth. Melanie was the first storm of the season which required Cyclone watches and warnings were issued for the Pilbara coast however it had weakened into a low pressure area before it made landfall.

Tropical Cyclone Helen was the first Tropical Cyclone to form in 2008 in the Southern Hemisphere which formed in TCWC Darwin’s area of responsibility and was the first time that Darwin had experienced a tropical cyclone since Tropical Cyclone Gretel in the 1984-85 season. Cyclone Nicholas made landfall north of Carnarvon on 20 February as a category one cyclone. Cyclone Ophelia actually formed in TCWC Darwin’s area of responsibility but had moved into TCWC Perth’s area when it was named. Tropical Cyclone Pancho formed on 23 March south of Christmas Island and was named by TCWC Perth on 25 March and reached Category 4 status with winds of 95 Knots.

In April 2008 Tropical Cyclones Rosie & Durga were the first ever Tropical Depressions to be monitored within TCWC Jakarta’s area of responsibility and Durga was also the first storm to reach Tropical cyclone status and named whilst being monitored by TCWC Jakarta. Durga was also the last storm of the season which officially ended on 30 April.

Tropical Cyclone Rosie
A tropical low formed southwest of Sumatra Indonesia, On 18 April. The Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (TCWC) in Jakarta then designated it as a Tropical Depression early on 20 April. The next day as the Tropical Depression moved southwards the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation alert on the developing system, and then later that day upgraded the tropical depression to Tropical Cyclone 28S. On 22 April the Tropical Depression then moved into TCWC Perth's Area of responsibility and was upgraded to Tropical Cyclone Rosie. On 23 April Rosie encountered high vertical wind shear and began weakening, being downgraded in the early hours of the next day to a tropical low. The JTWC issued their last warning on the cyclone on 24 April as well.

Tropical Cyclone Durga
On 21 April The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) identified a Tropical Disturbance which was located just inside Météo France's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) and issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the developing system. However, RSMC La Reunion did not monitor the storm. The disturbance then moved out of Météo France's AOR, and into TCWC Jakarta's AOR, who then designated it as a Tropical Depression on 22 April. Later that day The JTWC initiated warnings on the Tropical Depression designating it as Tropical Cyclone 29S. Early the next day TCWC Jakarta Assigned the name Durga to the cyclone. The cyclone then weakened as it moved into TCWC Perth's area of responsibility, between Cocos and Christmas Islands. TCWC Perth then issued their final warnings on Ex Tropical Cyclone Druga as it was downgraded to a tropical low on 25 April.

Storm names
Tropical cyclones in this area were monitored by five Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs): the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane; TCWC Jakarta in Indonesia; and TCWC Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre also issues unofficial warnings for the region, designating tropical depressions with the "S" suffix when they form west of 135°E, and the "P" suffix when they form east of 135°E. .

Indonesia
Tropical cyclones that developed between the Equator and 10°S and between 90°E and 125°E were assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia.


 * Durga

Southeast Indian Ocean
Tropical cyclones that developed east of 90°E, south of 10°S, and west of 125°E were assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Perth, Western Australia. 01S was monitored as a Tropical Low operationally but during post Storm Anaylis was upgraded to tropical cyclone status by TCWC Perth.

Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria
Tropical cyclones that developed south of the Equator between 125°E and 141°E were assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Darwin, Northern Territory.


 * Helen

Coral Sea
Tropical cyclones that developed south of 10°S between 141°E and 160°E were assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Brisbane, Queensland.

No Tropical Cyclones formed in this Area in 2007-08

Solomon Sea and Gulf of Papua
Tropical cyclones that develop north of 10°S between 141°E and 160°E were assigned names by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Tropical cyclone formation in this area is rare, and prior to this season, no cyclones had developed in it since 2003.


 * Guba

Retirement
At the 12th meeting of the RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee in Niue in July 2008, it was decided that the name Guba was retired from the TCWC Port Moresbys Naming lists this season as TCWC Port Moresby uses names only once and then they are retired. The name Malia was promoted from the standby list to replace the name Guba. The name Auram was added to the standby list in place of Malia.