A cyclone testing station in Townsville has improved its monitoring and study capacity by adding portable meters, a Risk Management Solutions (RMS) catastrophe modelling seminar has heard.

The Surface Weather Information Relay and Logging Network at James Cook University’s Cyclone Testing Station trialled the US-made relocatable anemometers during Cyclone Dylan in January, RMS Principal Modeller Michael Drayton told the seminar in Sydney last week.

“The wind speeds were not strong, but no water got into the instruments and they learned a lot from the live tests,” he said.

The portable devices give high-quality wind readings close to the source.

The tests follow the lead of similar projects in the US, where there are more windspeed data collection points than in Australia, Dr Drayton says. “This helps to redress the imbalance.”

The portable anemometers were placed in parks around Townsville, with Florida University helping James Cook on the project.

Less than 2% of Australian cyclone peak wind speeds have occurred where there is a capacity to measure them, Dr Drayton says.

RMS has sponsored the project for three years and will use the findings for its Australian cyclone modelling.