1m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 11:45pm
‘Pretty courageous’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the efforts of emergency services responding to ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
“When you looked at the news last night, what you saw was locals being pretty courageous amongst what were really difficult circumstances,” he said.
“It does say something about extreme weather conditions that you can have a cyclone that crossed the coast in Cape York and has continued right across the Northern Territory, right across to WA and down the WA coast as well.
“Our thoughts are with everyone in Western Australia at the moment and also those who are continuing to be impacted in the Northern Territory and Queensland from the aftermath of this cyclone.”
6m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 11:40pm
Ex-tropical cyclone remains dangerous, PM says
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged those affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
He urged residents to remain vigilant as the system remained dangerous despite being downgraded.
“The aftermath of heavy winds and rainfall is continuing,” he said on Saturday morning.
Mr Albanese said the federal government remained in contact with the Western Australia government and was ready to assist with the recovery.
12m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 11:34pm
Updated warning areas
Cyclone emergency warnings have now been downgraded for all areas, except one remaining area inland east of Mullewa.
A number of watch and act warnings are still in place for:
- West of Onslow to Coral Bay
- Parts of the Perth Metropolitan and South West
- Parts of the Mid West and Gascoyne, including Port Denison, Badgingarra, Carnamah, Dalwallinu, Mount Magnet, Paynes Find, Beacon, Bencubbin, Koorda, Mukinbudin, Trayning, Merredin, Southern Cross and Westonia.
57m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 10:49pm
Cyclone weakened before hitting Carnarvon
The ABC’s Andrew Chounding says ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle had dropped to category two by the time it approached Carnarvon, about 365km south of Exmouth, yesterday afternoon.
“The eye of the storm passed Carnarvon by about 50 metres to the east,” he said.
“So the town didn’t get the brunt of it [compared to] places like Exmouth, but we certainly did experience some very strong and gusty winds up around the 100-150 kilometre an hour mark, and intermittent rainstorms.”
1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 10:38pm
Damage, debris in Onslow
North of Exmouth in Onslow, locals have woken up to property damage and debris across the streets.
Michelle McKoy snapped these photos.
A tree uprooted at a local school in Onslow. (Supplied: Michelle McKoy)
Fallen trees and branches are strewn across the town in Onslow. (Supplied: Michelle McKoy)
One local school in Onslow was hit hard by damaging winds. (Supplied: Michelle McKoy)1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 10:29pmAbout 2,000 homes in Exmouth, Carnarvon still without power
Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain says ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle has caused property damage and blackouts in parts of Western Australia’s Pilbara coast.
It’s continuing to track further inland into WA’s midwest, and was earlier downgraded to a tropical low.
Several emergency warnings remain in place, with power outages impacting hundreds of residents.
McBain says the full extent of the damage will become known later in the day.
“We’ve got roofs that have blown off,” she said.
“We know that there’s been impacts to Woodside and Chevron operations in the Pilbara.
“There’s been some extensive power outages across Exmouth and Carnarvon in particular.
“We’ve got about 2,000 homes without power there.”
1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 10:24pmNarelle has lost its ‘eye’
The latest satellite images from the Bureau of Meteorology show ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle no longer has the clear “eye” it had previously.
The latest satellite image of ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle. (Source: BOM)
For comparison, this is what the system looked like yesterday:
Narelle pictured at 12:30pm GMT on Friday. (Source: BOM)1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 10:11pmNarelle no longer a tropical cyclone
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle has just been downgraded by the Bureau of Meteorology to a tropical low.
The system is currently inland east of Geraldton.
1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 9:52pmDamaging winds, heavy rain forecast for WA’s south
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued a severe weather warning for parts of WA’s south.
Cyclone Narelle is forecast to transition to “a vigorous subtropical low” later this morning, as it moves more rapidly to the southeast.
The BOM warns it will bring the risk of damaging winds and heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding.
Locations that may be affected include Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Merredin, Mount Magnet, Norseman and Corrigin.
The system is expected to move off the south coast later this evening.
2h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 9:30pmEmergency warnings remain in place along the West coast
While Cyclone Narelle is weakening, emergency warnings remain in place for the following areas:
- South of Coral Bay to Overlander Roadhouse (including coastal islands)
- West of Onslow to Coral Bay
- South of Binnu to Greenough
- South of Overlander Roadhouse to Binnu
- South of Greenough to Arrowsmith and extending inland to Paynes Find and Dalwallinu
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) urges people in these areas, including Exmouth, to stay indoors.
“Roads will re-open once damage assessments have been completed,” DFES says.
To keep up with the latest emergency warnings, visit the EmergencyWA website.
2h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 9:15pm
Need a quick catch up?
My colleagues Esse Deves and Alistair Bates have you covered.
They’ve pulled together a wrap of the destruction left by Tropical Cyclone Narelle so far.
2h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 8:52pmNarelle is weakening as it moves south
Tropical Cyclone Narelle is weakening but remains a category 2 system.
Narelle is moving over the Gascoyne, about 185 kilometres north-north-west of Geraldton, and 240km north-north-west of Morawa.
The current warning zone from the Bureau of Meteorology includes inland areas between Gascoyne Junction and Dalwallinu.
(Bureau of Meteorology)
3h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 8:35pm
Welcome to our live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Narelle
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Narelle, as the system tracks south through WA.
We’re monitoring the latest updates from the Bureau of Meteorology, and getting updates from our reporters in the region.
Stay with us for what you need to know throughout the day.