Fifteen tropical cyclones (TCs) formed in the South Pacific and southeast Indian Ocean during the 2005-06 TC season. This total was below the long-term average of 19 and is the seventh consecutive year of below average TC occurrence, although numbers were about average in the Australian region. Significantly there were five intense TCs, all in the Australian region. TC Monica reached a peak intensity of 69 m s-1 (135 kn) mean winds, the equal highest on record in the Australian region, as it crossed the Northern Territory coast. Most notably, TC Larry peaked in intensity at 56 m s-1 (110 kn) prior to crossing the Queensland coast, devastating the area around Innisfail. There were another four TCs that crossed the Australian coast. All of these crossed the Pilbara coast of northwest Australia, having a significant economic impact on the industry-rich region. The season occurred during a neutral El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase, whilst sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) remained warmer than normal over much of the region. Active phases of the intraseasonal Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) coincided with the development of eleven of the fifteen TC events.
Courtney et al. (Sat,) studied this question.