Severe Cyclone Narelle Strikes Australia 4 times
Severe Cyclone Narelle has made landfall 4 times in Australia in the last week.
Video from Western Australia shows strong winds from Tropical Cyclone Narelle roaring through parts of the Australian state on March 26.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle has been traversing the outer edge of Australia for 10 days. It has made landfall four times, the most recent on Friday, March 27.
It first made a rare landfall Friday, March 20, as a Category 4 storm on Australia's Cape York Peninsula between Lockhart River and Coen.
The strongest storm to make landfall in Queensland was Yassi in 2011, and Narelle rivaled its intensity.
The second landfall occurred in the far northeastern portion of the Northern Territory in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Narelle made its third landfall in the Kimberley region of Western Australia around 6 p.m. local time Monday, March 23.
Severe Cyclone Narelle traverses the coast of Australia between March 17 and March 27, 2026. (NOAA/CIRA)
The storm made its fourth landfall around 2 p.m., local time on Friday, March 27, when it moved ashore in Western Australia south of Coral Bay as a Category 3 hurricane equivalent.
Narelle's track is unusual. Only three other storms have made triple landfalls, with Tropical Cyclone Steve in 2000 being the only one that made a southward turn, Nicholls said.
"The last storm most closely matching the forecast of Narelle was Cyclone Bianca in 2011," he added.
Severe Cyclone Narelle at peak intensity on March 26, 2026. (NOAA/CIRA)
