Cyclone Narelle formed as a tropical storm on Tuesday, March 17 over the Coral Sea. During its roughly ten-day development, it strengthened into a Category 4 tropical cyclone, hitting the York Peninsula in Queensland and subsequently the coast of the Northern Territory.
While moving over the land, it significantly weakened back to a tropical storm, but at the beginning of this week it reached the sea again. It has strengthened again over the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and is now moving south along the west coast of Australia.
By Thursday afternoon local time, it was about 200 kilometers from the city of Karratha and had again reached category four. According to Australian meteorologists, it could intensify to the highest level, the fifth, in the next few hours.
Its winds of up to 275 km/h and rainfall in excess of 200 millimeters may affect remote areas of Western Australia, including the towns of Exmouth and Carnarvon. The cyclone should make landfall on Friday in the area of Žraločí Bay, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
“These communities will be exposed to the strongest impacts of Cyclone Narelle. Winds this strong are rare in this area and will leave significant damage. It can uproot trees and damage fixed structures. There is also a risk of flash flooding,” warns meteorologist Angus Hines.
An exceptionally long route
Without the supply of energy from the ocean, the system should gradually weaken, according to forecasts. Even so, on Friday and Saturday it can hit the more densely populated parts of Western Australia, including the capital Perth, where up to 100 millimeters of rain can fall.
In less than two weeks, Narelle will complete her extraordinary journey along the Australian coast. During that time, it will cover more than 6 thousand kilometers, and after leaving Australia, it will also continue further south before weakening completely.
Such a long path is very unusual for a tropical system in this area. During its journey, Narelle threatened three Australian states and territories – Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The last time something similar happened in 2005 during Cyclone Ingrid.
