Summary
A tropical low formed over the northern Timor Sea on the 16 March and tracked westwards. During the 19 March the low started intensifying while moving southwest over open waters in between Indonesia and Western Australia. The system was named tropical cyclone Charlotte during Monday morning 21 March. The next 24 hours was quite significant where Charlotte rapidly intensified from a category 1 to a category 4 cyclone on 22 March. Charlotte maintained this intensity for at least 12 hours as it tracked south-westwards under the influence of a subtropical ridge.
The cyclone began weakening during 23 March due to drier air intrusion and increasing north-westerly wind shear. The system was downgraded to a tropical low at 1800 UTC 24 March as it moved south over cooler waters off Western Australia.
There was no direct impact from Severe Tropical Cyclone Charlotte to the Australian mainland or island communities. Earlier in its life cycle, it caused heavy rain over the Timor-Leste but there were no reports of any damages.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Charlotte was the eighth tropical cyclone in the Australian region for the 2021/22 season.
For more information see the TC Charlotte Report (pdf).
Track and Intensity
