Summary
TC Laurence was the first cyclone to be named by the northern region since Kay (April, 1987).
Large-scale mid-latitude forcing from both hemispheres occurred prior to the genesis of Laurence, in the form of a northeast surge in the South China Sea following a 1062 hPa Siberian high at the end of November, and strong anticylcogenesis over central Australia on 7 December.
Acloud cluster developed over the Timor Sea on 8 December. This tracked east-southeaxst and by evening of 10 December it had developed into a weak tropical cyclone that was detectable at a distance of 230 km on the Darwin radar. It then moved south-southwest until 11 December when it moved west.
Late on 11 December, Laurence weakened below tropical cyclone strength under the influence of vertical wind shear from low-level easterlies. The remnants continued to track west and then south before dissipating near Rowley Shoals on 16 December.
The only report of damage was the sinking of a small fishing trawler on 11 December, however, since the trawler was 150 km away from the cyclone centre and the radius of gales was less than 55 km, the strong winds and heavy seas reported were not considered directly due to the cyclone itself.
Track and intensity
