Summary
Severe Tropical cyclone Elsie developed after moving off the west Kimberley coast on 22 February. Elsie intensified in the following days and took a southerly track from late on 23 February until it made landfall along the eastern Pilbara coast near Mandora station on 25 February at category four intensity. Mandora registered a gust of 222 km/h, at that time the second highest wind gusts recorded on the Australian mainland and a minimum pressure of approximately 943 hPa.
Severe damage was sustained at Mandora, and the two main homestead buildings had to be bulldozed away to allow rebuilding to commence. Damage was also sustained at nearby stations. Heavy rain caused moderate flooding.
For more details see the TC Elsie Report (pdf)
Track and intensity
All times in WST - subtract 8 hours to convert to UTC.
