{"id":459079,"date":"2026-02-05T01:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/459079\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T01:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:56:10","slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-a-tropical-low-and-cyclone-in-northern-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/459079\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the difference between a tropical low and cyclone in northern Australia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When spiral formations appear on weather radars and satellite images, it can be easy to jump at the thought of an impending tropical cyclone.<\/p>\n

Heavy rain and strong winds are part of northern Australia’s “wet season”, but for many eager weather buffs the months between November and April can be an exciting time.<\/p>\n

Online chatter and local weather pages become a hive of activity with cyclone predictions and various weather tracking websites the talk of the town.<\/p>\n

\"Cyclone<\/p>\n

Tropical Cyclone Hayley impacted the Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome, in December. (ABC News: Giulia Bertoglio)<\/p>\n

Eight tropical cyclones have formed in Australia’s watch zone this season and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is predicting the possibility of another this weekend.<\/p>\n

Before the cyclone talk begins, here’s what you need to know about the coloured blips on forecast maps and rotating storm systems on radars.<\/p>\n

Is a tropical low the same thing as a cyclone?<\/p>\n

The short answer is no.<\/p>\n

But they can still cause widespread damage.<\/p>\n

According to BOM meteorologist Sarah Scully, tropical lows are the “precursor or remnants” of a tropical cyclone, marked with the letter L on a tracking map.<\/p>\n

“Tropical lows are weaker than tropical cyclones, but they still can really pack a punch,” she said.\"A<\/p>\n

Tropical lows are marked with the letter L on a tracking map. (Supplied: BOM)<\/p>\n

A tropical low is a “patch” of low pressure and rising air, with clockwise rotating winds that form over the tropics.<\/p>\n

While not uncommon, Ms Scully said there had been a “number”of tropical lows this season.<\/p>\n

\"Senior<\/p>\n

Sarah Scully says tropical lows and cyclones are different, but can both have a lasting impact. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“Lows are characterised by well-organised thunderstorm activity that lasts for multiple days and can often be seen from satellite imagery as a spiralling cloud band into the centre of the low,” she said.<\/p>\n

“They develop in an area of unstable weather or low-pressure conditions, particularly when they’re attached to warm waters or a tropical moisture source.”<\/p>\n

And when conditions are favourable, tropical lows develop into a cyclone.<\/p>\n

‘Ingredients’ of a cyclone<\/p>\n

Not all tropical lows reach cyclone strength.<\/p>\n

Ms Scully said they only developed when “all the ingredients” came together, which included:<\/p>\n

locationincreased convective activity (large areas of organised thunderstorms)sea surface temperatures higher than 26.5 degrees Celsius, andsustained winds of more than 63 kilometres per hour.Loading…<\/p>\n

“It needs to move into an atmosphere that is favourable,” she said.<\/p>\n

“For a tropical cyclone to be declared or to be named, there needs to be gales observed within three quadrants of the low for at least 6 hours.<\/p>\n

\"Heavy<\/p>\n

Tropical lows and cyclones can brin substantial rainfall and gale force winds. (ABC News: Anthony Pancia)<\/p>\n

“So, we need more than half of the cyclone to have wind strengths that are gale force or stronger.”<\/p>\n

Once the system reaches cyclone strength, the predicted severity of a cyclone is ranked between category one and five, based on the strength of the wind.<\/p>\n

While cyclones can change their path, they begin to dissipate once making landfall or when atmospheric conditions change.<\/p>\n

Can a cyclone develop over land?<\/p>\n

While tropical lows can form over land, tropical cyclones cannot.<\/p>\n

Ms Scully said cyclones required warm ocean temperatures and moisture to survive.<\/p>\n

That is why conditions often ease once they cross the coast.<\/p>\n

Is all this cyclone talk just ‘media hype’?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, no.<\/p>\n

Australia has experienced devastating consequences of tropical cyclones and tropical lows.<\/p>\n

When tracking maps are published, it is important for the ABC as the national broadcaster to provide timely and accurate information about unfolding weather events.<\/p>\n

Having lived in the Northern Territory, Ms Scully said she understood the community interest in cyclones.<\/p>\n

“It’s incredibly important to keep an eye on any tropical lows and the potential for them to develop into a tropical cyclone,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The damage and destruction that can come along and the community impacts with the cyclone can be enormous.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When spiral formations appear on weather radars and satellite images, it can be easy to jump at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,236121,6884,59686,236122,75,8867,701,128,147353,203211,204413],"class_list":["post-459079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-cyclones","tag-bureau-of-meteorology","tag-christmas-island","tag-cocos-island","tag-environment","tag-northern-territory","tag-queensland","tag-science","tag-tropical-cyclone","tag-tropical-low","tag-tropics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}