Narelle

History

Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle was a long-lived and unusually active cyclone that formed from a tropical disturbance south of the Solomon Islands on 15 March 2026. It was classified as a Category 1 cyclone on 17 March near Papua New Guinea and named Narelle by the Bureau of Meteorology. The system intensified rapidly, reaching peak Category 5 intensity on 19 March with 10-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h, gusts of 315 km/h, and a central pressure of 925 hPa.

Narelle made its first landfall on 20 March as a high-end Category 4 cyclone on the Cape York Peninsula, approximately 200 kilometres east-southeast of Weipa. It weakened to Category 2 while crossing Queensland, then re-intensified over the Gulf of Carpentaria before making a second landfall near Point Arrowsmith in East Arnhem on 22 March. After crossing the Northern Territory, it made a third landfall in the Kimberley region as a Category 1 cyclone before entering the Indian Ocean on 24 March. Narelle re-intensified to Category 4 before making a fourth and final landfall near Coral Bay, Western Australia, on 27 March, causing extensive damage in Exmouth including significant destruction to the airport and its weather radar facility.

Impacts across its track included around 3,000 properties losing power in Queensland, downed trees, roof damage, coastal erosion near Cairns, prolonged major flooding along the Daly River, and widespread infrastructure disruption in Western Australia.

Sources: Bureau of Meteorology report Wikipedia