Summary
Sue was the third cyclone of the season to operate in the Northwestern Australian Region. It was not an intense cyclone but was interesting because of the easterly component in its movement. Sue did not pass over land although on 14 December it passed within 90 km of Christmas Island. The rainfall recorded at Christmas Island during the period of Sue 'sactivity was 47 mm 12 December, 28 mm 13 December and 3 mm 14 December.
Of the ships in the area influenced by cyclone Sue only one, "British Tenacity", reported winds exceeding gale force and that on three occasions during one hour.
Using Dvorak's method of cloud photograph interpretation it was estimated that winds of about 75 km/h would have been generated near the centre. This figure is considerably lower than that estimated by "British Tenacity". At Christmas Island winds did not exceed 60 km/h.
On 13 and 14 December rough or very rough seas and a heavy swell were reported from Christmas Island. This sea action is consistent with the reported and estimated winds associated with the cyclone.
For more details see the TC Sue Report (pdf).
Track and intensity
