Summary
Tropical Cyclone Grant developed south of Indonesia and moved generally westward across the southern Indian Ocean. The system passed close to the north of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands on 25 December 2025, with gale-force winds in the southern quadrants affecting the islands on Christmas morning.
Seven-day forecasts for the formation of Tropical Low 03U in the Indian Ocean were issued on the Bureau of Meteorology website from 2 December 2025. The Tropical Low 03U formed south of the Indonesian archipelago on 16 December 2025. The system moved generally westwards and developed into Tropical Cyclone Grant on 23 December 2025.
The gale-force winds contracted to less than halfway around the centre in the next six hours, and Grant was downgraded to a tropical low. The system briefly re-intensified to tropical cyclone strength early on 24 December before weakening again later that day as it approached the Cocos (Keeling) Islands from the east.
Tropical Low 03U (Ex-Grant) approached the Cocos (Keeling) Islands during the early hours of 25 December, with gale-force winds in the southern quadrants. Gales extended to a radius of around 25 nm (46 km) over the Cocos (Keeling) Islands for several hours on 25 December. Minimal damage and impacts were reported on the islands.
After moving past the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, 03U re-intensified to Tropical Cyclone Grant at 1200 UTC 25 December (AWST=UTC+8 hours) and strengthened to a category 2 system in the next 12 hours at 0000 UTC 26 December. Grant maintained category 2 intensity as it moved into La Réunion’s area of responsibility (west of 90°E) on 27 December 2025.
As it continued westward outside the Australian region, Grant intensified further, reaching category 4 intensity on 29 December 2025. It remained a severe tropical cyclone over the southern Indian Ocean before weakening to category 1 intensity on 1 January 2026. The system weakened below tropical cyclone strength on 3 January while located well to the east of Madagascar.
For more information see the Tropical Cyclone Grant report (docx).
Track and Intensity Times in UTC (AEST-10h, ACST-9.5h, AWST-8h)
