Cyclone Mitchell strengthens to category three as it bears down on coast
Australians are bracing for severe weather as a “bad” cyclone makes landfall on Sunday.
Tropical cyclone Mitchell formed off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines told NewsWire it was now 150 kilometers off the coast but severe weather had already begun.
“Even though it is over water, it will continue to bring rain and strong winds to parts of the Western Australian coast,” he said.
The system upgraded overnight and will likely intensify as it moves ashore late Saturday or Sunday.
“It will need to change direction slightly on Sunday as it looks likely to swing further southwards….. The current track shows it reaching the coast somewhere near Onslow, in the west of the Pilbara.
“As we move further into the country there will be more rainfall and very strong winds coming to north-west WA.”
“All of these areas could be hit by destructive winds as well as heavy rain and thunderstorms, which could lead to flash flooding or cause river levels to rise, particularly late today and into Sunday,” he said.
It is likely to strengthen to a category three hurricane by late Sunday.
The system will weaken by Monday, but heavy rains are expected to continue throughout the week.
Mr Hines urged locals to prepare by buying extra food and water in case there are problems with water or electricity.
“But when the wind starts kicking in and the bad weather comes and the tropical cyclone hits, you really want to push the hatches down,” he said.
Category two and three cyclones differ primarily in intensity and destructive capacity; Category three brings winds strong enough to topple trees.
This is the second day of severe weather on the coast.
At 2am local time on Friday, a tropical low about 50 kilometers north-east of Broome was already dumping heavy rain on parts of the Kimberley.
Curtin recorded 115mm in just 18 hours, while Broome logged more than 50mm in the same period.
The system is predicted to draw energy from warm waters north of Western Australia when deployed offshore, significantly increasing the risk of heavy rain, flooding and damaging winds across coastal communities.
The dry start to 2026 is finally over
Much of Australia has seen little or no rain so far this year; Barely measurable totals were recorded in some areas.
After an exceptionally dry start to the year, much of the country is bracing for significant rainfall, bureau meteorologist Jonathon How said.
“As we head into the weekend, widespread rain and storms are expected across central and south-eastern Australia, with tropical moisture falling from the north of the country,” How said.
These include much of Central Australia, including the southern NT, western NSW and inland South Australia, which has received less than 10mm of rain so far this year; Some areas experienced less than 2 mm of rain.
“But further south, western Victoria and eastern South Australia experienced no rainfall,” he said.
This prolonged dry spell is expected to end with the convergence of several weather systems, including a tropical low forecast to strengthen into a hurricane off the Pilbara coast.
