Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin just after midnight on Christmas Day in 1974 and lasted until about 7:00 am.
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Once cyclones make landfall, they never last longer than a few hours. Cyclone Tracy lasted from shortly after 2am to just before 7am on 25 December 1974.
It was from 24 to 25 of December 1974.
Tracy was not a particularly big cyclone, but its effect was extremely devastating because it hit Darwin directly. 65 people were killed, and 9,000 homes destroyed, out of a city of 43,500 people living in 12,000 residences. Cyclone Tracy was not expected to hit: it did so after appearing to be heading past, meaning that many were caught unawares. Also, the fact that it was Christmas Eve caused many people to be in a state of denial. In terms of power, Cyclone Tracy was a category 4 storm whilst still out at sea, but there is some evidence to suggest that it had reached category 5 status when it made landfall. There was no way to accurately measure its strength at landfall, as it completely blew away the weather instrumentation at Darwin airport. Gale force winds extended from the center for 40km. When it passed over Darwin, the diameter of the eye was 12km.
600 hours = 0.82 months.
4 hours