Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle Hits Cape York Peninsula as Category 3 Storm
This alert is no longer in effect.
BOM issued it on April 5, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
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Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle has moved inland across the Cape York Peninsula, bringing destructive wind gusts up to 220 km/h and triggering warnings for Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Tropical Cyclone
- Affected area
- Northern Australia
- Issued
- April 5, 2026
- Issuing authority
- BOM
The warning type, named area, and issue time define this record. Confirm all three against the original agency notice before treating it as current.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Northern Australia.
Alert Details
Alert Type: Tropical Cyclone Warning (Category 3) Issued by: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) Effective Period: Through March 20, 2026
Affected Areas
Warning Zone: Cape York Peninsula between Lockhart River and Cape Melville, and between Mapoon and Pormpuraaw. This includes the communities of Coen, Weipa, and Aurukun.
Watch Zone: Northern Territory from Nhulunbuy to Port McArthur, including Borroloola, Numbulwar, Alyangula, Ngukurr, and Bulman.
What You Should Do
Residents in the Warning Zone should prepare for gale-force winds arriving within the next 24 hours. Those in the Watch Zone should monitor conditions for gales expected within 24 to 48 hours. This alert is designed for land-based communities; mariners are advised to consult coastal waters and high seas warnings.
Expected Conditions
- Wind Intensity: Sustained winds near the center of 155 kilometres per hour with very destructive gusts reaching up to 220 kilometres per hour.
- Regional Impacts: Destructive wind gusts to 160 kilometres per hour are likely south of Lockhart River to north of Cape Melville.
- Current Position: Within 30 kilometres of 13.4 degrees South, 143.2 degrees East (approximately 45 kilometres north of Coen).
- Movement: Moving west at 21 kilometres per hour.
Timeline
Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle crossed the Queensland coast around 7:00 am AEST on Friday, March 20, 2026, as a Category 4 system. It has since weakened to Category 3 and is moving west across the Cape York Peninsula today. The system is forecast to move across the Gulf of Carpentaria and is expected to restrengthen before impacting the eastern Northern Territory starting late Saturday.
Original source: BOM Official Notice ↗
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