--- title: "Tropical Cyclones in the Australian Region Since 1972: How Many, How Strong and Where" url: https://australianproperty.network/apn-social-capital-index/apn-substrate/tropical-cyclones-in-the-australian-region-since-1972/ date: 2026-10-16 modified: 2026-10-16 lang: en author: "APN National" description: "The Australian region has averaged 10.5 named tropical cyclones a season since 1972–73: 12.0 a season in the first 27 seasons and 9.1 in the 27 since. No season since 1999–2000 has had 13 or more. The 2025–26 season had 11, seven of them category 3 or stronger." categories: - "APN Substrate™" tags: - "24150" - "cyclones" - "Natural disasters" image: https://australianproperty.network/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Tropical-cyclones-October-2026.webp word_count: 1621 --- # Tropical Cyclones in the Australian Region Since 1972: How Many, How Strong and Where The Australian region has averaged 10.5 named tropical cyclones a season since 1972–73, and 5.3 of them have reached category 3 or stronger. The number has fallen over the period: 12.0 a season in the 27 seasons to 1998–99 and 9.1 in the 27 since. No season since 1999–2000 has had 13 or more, a number reached in 16 of the 28 seasons up to and including it. The 2025–26 season had 11 cyclones, 7 of them category 3 or stronger. **Data anchors** · Node reading for [APN Substrate™ (Climate Resilience Rating) (24150)](https://australianproperty.network/apn-codex/series-20000/series-24000/series-24100/series-24150/): NIL RETURN. This article rests on the source data alone · 10.5 named tropical cyclones a season on average over 54 seasons; 12.0 in the first 27 seasons and 9.1 in the 27 since · 5.3 a season reached category 3 or stronger on average; 11 cyclones in 2025–26, 7 of them category 3 or stronger. Counts are for the Australian region, south of the equator between 90°E and 160°E, from the Bureau of Meteorology’s database of past cyclone tracks. #### What is measured The Bureau of Meteorology keeps a database of every tropical cyclone known to have occurred in the Australian region. After each cyclone, its meteorologists review the observations and settle a ‘best track’: the position, central pressure and wind speed of the system every few hours. This article counts cyclones by season from that database. A cyclone is counted here if it carries a name in the database and reached a mean wind of at least 63 kilometres an hour, gale force, while south of the equator between longitudes 90°E and 160°E. A cyclone of category 3 or stronger is one that reached a mean wind of at least 118 kilometres an hour, the threshold at which the Bureau’s five-step scale moves from category 2 to category 3. A season runs from July to June, and is counted from 1972–73, the first season in which the database records wind speeds for nearly every system. The region is much larger than the Australian coast, and most cyclones counted here did not cross it. #### Season by season ##### Named tropical cyclones in the Australian region, by season, 1972–73 to 2025–26 - 0510152019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025Named tropical cyclonesOf which category 3 or stronger117 APN calculation based on Bureau of Meteorology data: Australian Tropical Cyclone Database, seasons 1972–73 to 2025–26, best track file IDCKMSTM0S, updated 12 October 2026. A named tropical cyclone is a system in the database that carries a name and reached a mean wind of at least 63 kilometres an hour while south of the equator between 90°E and 160°E. Category 3 or stronger means a mean wind of at least 118 kilometres an hour. A season runs from July to June. The count varies widely from one season to the next, from 19 in 1973–74 to 3 in 2015–16, the only one of the 54 seasons with no cyclone of category 3 or stronger. Behind that variation the level has come down. Thirteen or more cyclones formed in 16 of the 28 seasons to 1999–2000 and in none of the 26 since. Only one season since 2000–01 has had 12. The earliest seasons are not fully comparable with later ones. The Bureau notes that historical cyclone data have limitations because observing practices and technology have changed, and it bases its own seasonal averages on seasons from 1980–81. Counted from that season, the average is 11.5 named cyclones a season in the 20 seasons to 1999–2000 and 8.9 in the 26 since; for category 3 or stronger, 6.35 and 4.27. #### Decade by decade ##### Average named tropical cyclones a season 048121620241972–73 to 1979–8013.2 (category 3 or stronger 6.1)1980–81 to 1989–9012.1 (category 3 or stronger 6.4)1990–91 to 1999–0010.9 (category 3 or stronger 6.3)2000–01 to 2009–109.0 (category 3 or stronger 4.0)2010–11 to 2019–208.8 (category 3 or stronger 4.0)2020–21 to 2025–269.0 (category 3 or stronger 5.2) APN calculation based on Bureau of Meteorology data: Australian Tropical Cyclone Database, seasons 1972–73 to 2025–26, best track file IDCKMSTM0S. Average number of named tropical cyclones a season; the average number that reached category 3 or stronger is shown beside each bar. The first group covers eight seasons and the last six. The average fell from 13.2 a season in the 1970s seasons counted to 9.0 in the 2000s and 8.8 in the 2010s, and has been 9.0 in the six seasons from 2020–21. Cyclones of category 3 or stronger averaged a little over six a season in each of the first three groups and 4.0 in the 2000s and 2010s. The six most recent seasons have averaged 5.2, with 8 in 2024–25 and 7 in 2025–26. Across the 54 seasons, 51% of named cyclones reached category 3 or stronger. #### Where they form ##### Average named tropical cyclones a season, 1972–73 to 1998–99, by longitude 024681012West of 125°E6.4 (1999–00 to 2025–26: 5.0)125°E to 142.5°E2.1 (1999–00 to 2025–26: 1.6)East of 142.5°E3.4 (1999–00 to 2025–26: 2.5) APN calculation based on Bureau of Meteorology data: Australian Tropical Cyclone Database, seasons 1972–73 to 2025–26, best track file IDCKMSTM0S. Average number of named tropical cyclones a season in the 27 seasons to 1998–99, by the longitude at which each first reached gale force; the average for the 27 seasons since is shown beside each bar. | Where the cyclone first reached gale force | Cyclones, 54 seasons | Share | A season, 1972–73 to 1998–99 | A season, 1999–00 to 2025–26 | | ------------------------------------------ | -------------------- | ----- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | West of 125°E (Indian Ocean and north-west coast) | 306 | 53.9% | 6.4 | 5.0 | | 125°E to 142.5°E (Timor and Arafura seas, Gulf of Carpentaria) | 102 | 18.0% | 2.1 | 1.6 | | East of 142.5°E (Coral Sea) | 160 | 28.2% | 3.4 | 2.5 | APN calculation based on Bureau of Meteorology data: Australian Tropical Cyclone Database, seasons 1972–73 to 2025–26, best track file IDCKMSTM0S. Average number of named tropical cyclones a season in the 27 seasons to 1998–99, by the longitude at which each first reached gale force; the average for the 27 seasons since is shown beside each bar. More than half of the region’s cyclones first reach gale force west of 125°E, over the Indian Ocean and off the north-west coast of Western Australia. The Coral Sea, east of 142.5°E, accounts for 28% and the waters between for 18%. The average has fallen in all three bands between the first and second halves of the period. #### The lowest pressures in 54 seasons | Cyclone | Season | Lowest central pressure, hectopascals | | ------- | ------ | ------------------------------------- | | Gwenda | 1998–99 | 900 | | George | 2006–07 | 902 | | Orson | 1988–89 | 905 | | Marcus | 2017–18 | 905 | APN calculation based on Bureau of Meteorology data: Australian Tropical Cyclone Database, seasons 1972–73 to 2025–26, best track file IDCKMSTM0S. Lowest central pressure recorded for each cyclone while in the region. Central pressure is one measure of a cyclone’s intensity: the lower the pressure, the stronger the system. The four cyclones with the lowest pressures in the 54 seasons all first reached gale force between longitudes 123°E and 132°E, in the seas north of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. 10.5Named tropical cyclones a season, average of 54 seasons9.1A season, average since 1999–20005.3A season reached category 3 or stronger, average11Cyclones in 2025–26 #### What this does not show This is a count of cyclones in a large ocean region, not of cyclones that reached land, and it says nothing about damage. A season with few cyclones can include one that crosses a populated coast. The way cyclones are observed has changed over 54 years, with better satellite coverage and new methods of estimating wind speed, so the intensity of earlier systems is known less precisely than that of recent ones. The count here uses a single rule applied to the Bureau’s track data and can differ by one or two in a season from the Bureau’s own seasonal summaries, which rest on its meteorologists’ classification of each system. The database also holds tropical lows that reached gale force in part of their circulation without being named; these are not counted. The figures describe the past and are not a forecast. **Methodology note.** Node reading for APN Substrate™ (Climate Resilience Rating) (24150): NIL RETURN. This article rests on the source data alone. It uses the Bureau of Meteorology’s database of past tropical cyclone tracks, as updated on 12 October 2026. Each system is assigned to the season in its identifier. For each system, the highest mean wind speed and the lowest central pressure were taken from the track points south of the equator between 90°E and 160°E. A system is counted as a named tropical cyclone if it carries a name and its highest mean wind in the region was at least 17 metres a second, the stored values on either side being 15.4 (30 knots) and 18.0 (35 knots); gale force is 63 kilometres an hour. It is counted as category 3 or stronger if that wind was at least 32 metres a second, the stored values on either side being 30.9 (60 knots) and 33.4 (65 knots); 118 kilometres an hour is 32.8 metres a second. Systems named by neighbouring warning centres are counted while they are in the region. The longitude bands are this article’s own. Seasons before 1972–73 are left out because the database records few wind speeds for them. **Sources** Bureau of Meteorology (Reference period: 1907 to April 2026) *Australian Tropical Cyclone Database: database of past tropical cyclone tracks (best track file IDCKMSTM0S)* [[http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/tropical-cyclone-knowledge-centre/databases/](http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/tropical-cyclone-knowledge-centre/databases/)], accessed 12 October 2026. *Data © Bureau of Meteorology. Calculations, definitions and groupings are APN’s and are not attributable to the Bureau.* ##### Disclaimer The analysis and information contained in this publication are for general informational and strategic purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, legal, or any other form of professional advice. Australian Property Network is not a licensed financial advisor. Property values and market conditions can go up or down. Before making any property or investment decisions, you must conduct your own thorough research and seek independent professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Images are for illustrative purposes only. E.&O.E. Findings are presented on the basis of data and evidence alone.