One of the most unusual tropical cyclones in Australia’s modern weather history swept through Western Australia this weekend, turning skies blood red over the tourism town of Denham before the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed on Saturday evening that the system had lost its tropical characteristics and dissipated into the Southern Ocean.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle began life near the Solomon Islands on 16 March, crossing the Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland as a compact Category 4 system before tracking steadily westward across the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Northern Territory, and the Kimberley region of Western Australia, covering more than 5,700 kilometres in total since it first formed. It is relatively rare for a single tropical cyclone to affect Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia in one continuous track. The last comparable systems were Severe Cyclone Ingrid in 2005 and Cyclone Steve in 2000.
Narelle made landfall just south of Coral Bay along the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia at approximately 9:30 am Australian Western Standard Time on Friday 27 March as a Category 3 system, bringing maximum wind gusts of up to 195 km/h and a dangerous storm tide along the coast. Severe weather conditions continued inland through the day and into Saturday.
Meteorologist James Ashley described Narelle as an unusual and large storm, noting that the system was packing winds well over 200 km/h, and that all coastal locations between Exmouth and Shark Bay faced severe wind impacts as well as heavy rainfall. Some locations were forecast to receive more than 200 mm of rain, with significant storm surges possible.
The approach of the storm produced a striking and unsettling sight at Denham, the small holiday town at the entrance to the World Heritage-listed Shark Bay. Dust swept up by the cyclone’s massive outer bands mixed with atmospheric conditions to turn the horizon deep red. Residents described an “eerily silent” atmosphere as the streets emptied and warnings reached code red status.
The Ningaloo Reef, already stressed by previous bleaching events, was severely affected as the cyclone’s core winds passed along its entire length. Severe flooding extended well inland, with the Katherine River in the Northern Territory remaining in flood since Narelle first crossed the region. The Daly River at Daly River Police Station reached 14.52 metres, with major flooding expected to persist through the end of March.
By Saturday, Narelle had continued to rapidly deteriorate, losing tropical characteristics as its convection weakened and its vortex became shallow. The system tracked southeastward into the Southern Ocean, where cool sea surface temperatures and high wind shear ensured it could not regenerate.
Authorities warned that while the cyclonic threat had passed, flash flooding remained a risk across inland areas, and communities along Narelle’s path were bracing for a significant clean-up effort in the days ahead.
