Tropical Cyclone Narelle Warning Issued for Nhulunbuy to Port McArthur
This alert is no longer in effect.
BOM issued it on April 6, 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).
Areazine synthesizes this BoM weather warning directly from BOM's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle is forecast to intensify into a severe cyclone before impacting the eastern Top End with wind gusts up to 195 km/h.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Tropical Cyclone
- Affected area
- Northern Territory Top End
- Issued
- April 6, 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 Territory Top End.
Alert Details
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued a major Tropical Cyclone Warning for Tropical Cyclone Narelle (34U). As of 4:31 am ACST on Saturday, March 21, 2026, Narelle is a Category 2 cyclone moving westwards through the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is forecast to strengthen into a severe tropical cyclone before making landfall.
Affected Areas
- Warning Zone: Nhulunbuy to Port McArthur, including Borroloola, Numbulwar, Alyangula, and Gapuwiyak.
- Watch Zone: Extending west to include Ramingining, Bulman, and Ngukurr.
- Additional Regions: The alert covers areas including Groote Eylandt, Katherine, North East Island, Douglas River, Pine Creek, Wadeye, and the Carpentaria, Arnhem, and Daly regions.
What You Should Do
Residents in the Warning Zone should prepare for gale-force winds expected within 24 hours. Those in the Watch Zone should monitor conditions for gales expected within 24 to 48 hours. Communities between Birany Birany and Numbulwar, including Groote Eylandt, must prepare for very destructive winds. Land-based communities should follow local emergency instructions, while mariners are advised to refer to coastal waters and high seas warnings.
Expected Conditions
- Current Intensity: Category 2 with sustained winds near the centre of 110 km/h and gusts to 155 km/h.
- Peak Hazards: Very destructive wind gusts up to 195 km/h are forecast for coastal areas between Birany Birany and Numbulwar. Destructive wind gusts to 160 km/h may extend from Nhulunbuy to Nathan River.
- Movement: The system is currently moving west at 20 kilometres per hour.
Timeline
- Saturday Afternoon: Destructive wind gusts expected to develop.
- Saturday Evening: Very destructive winds forecast to develop as the cyclone approaches the coast.
- Landfall: Forecast to cross the eastern Top End coast overnight Saturday or early Sunday morning, most likely between Birany Birany and Numbulwar.
- Sunday and Monday: Narelle is expected to weaken as it moves inland across the Top End.
Original source: BOM Official Notice ↗
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