Tropical Cyclone Narelle is currently a category 2 system and moving away from far north Queensland. It is expected, though, to make landfall overnight Saturday and into Sunday across the eastern coast of the Top End as a severe category 3 system. So now let's have a look at the latest warning situation, starting off in Queensland. We have now cancelled that Tropical Cyclone Warning as Tropical Cyclone Narelle pushes further away from the state. However, we are still expecting widespread showers and thunderstorms right across far north Queensland, and we could see heavy falls about the north-eastern tropical coast. With recent rain, rivers are swollen, and so the flood risk does remain. At the same time, the tropical cyclone is pushing very large waves onto the eastern Gulf coast, producing abnormally high tides and hazardous coastal conditions, including around the Weipa area. So if you are across far north Queensland, even though Tropical Cyclone Narelle is now pushing away, be sure to keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings as we head through the rest of the weekend.

Looking now to the west of the Gulf of Carpentaria, we do have a Tropical Cyclone Warning current that extends from Nhulunbuy in the north down towards Port McArthur in the south, and does include Borroloola, Numbulwar, Groote Eylandt and Birany Birany, as well as extending a little further inland towards the Top End. So if you are across the Tropical Cyclone Warning area, what can we expect? First, as the system approaches the coast tonight, we will see very destructive winds of up to 185 km/h near the cyclone crossing centre. More broadly across that warning area, we could see winds reaching up to 160 km/h. Heavy to intense rainfall will also develop, and 24-hour rainfall totals could reach between 100 mm and in excess of 250 mm. At the same time, large waves and coastal inundation are expected across much of the Gulf coast.

Now having a look at the latest track map, we can see Tropical Cyclone Narelle, currently a category 2 system over the warm waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Through the rest of Saturday, it will move towards the west and is expected to intensify into a severe category 3 system by Saturday afternoon. It will move to the north of Groote Eylandt and is expected to cross the coast early on Sunday morning, somewhere between Birany Birany and Numbulwar, around the Cape Shield area, as a severe category 3 system. From there, it is expected to rapidly weaken over land and be back to a tropical low as we head into Sunday, but still expect to see heavy rainfall and damaging winds right across that warning area. As we head through the rest of Sunday, the remnants of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle will continue moving west across the Top End, and we have also issued a Severe Weather Warning in addition to the Tropical Cyclone Warning. This area in yellow can expect to see heavy to intense rainfall, as well as isolated damaging winds, as we head into Sunday and Sunday night. The risk of intense rainfall is high for areas just to the north of Katherine.

So now, what can people expect there? First, with those very strong to destructive winds, we can expect to see significant damage to property, businesses, and any loose items or structures in the area. Further, those winds could cause extensive damage to vegetation and crops right across the Top End. With further heavy rainfall, we are also anticipating disruptions to local communities, including roads being closed or inundated, as well as the isolation of some areas. So do prepare yourself and follow all the advice from local emergency services as we head into tonight, as well as Sunday.

Now looking further at the flooding situation, we still have a number of Flood Watches right across northern Australia. In Queensland, a Flood Watch covers much of Cape York Peninsula due to many rivers still being very high, with warnings current for the northern tropical coast and continuing across inland parts of Queensland. For the Top End, we have issued a Flood Watch right across the area, along with Major Flood Warnings. We are expecting major flooding to redevelop across the Katherine and Waterhouse rivers, and for the Daly River, which is already in major flooding, upcoming rainfall will prolong that peak. We also have Flood Watches issued for northern parts of the Kimberley in Western Australia. So keep across these over the next few days, as the situation remains very dynamic.

Looking at the track of Tropical Cyclone Narelle or its remnants from Sunday, we see the low tracking across the Top End and moving out into the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf as we head into Monday afternoon. From there, it is expected to move into the open waters of the Indian Ocean and may re-intensify back into a tropical cyclone just to the north of the Dampier Peninsula as we head into Wednesday. So if you are across northern and western parts of Western Australia, do keep across the latest forecast tracks, forecasts and warnings as we head into the second half of the week, with the potential for Tropical Cyclone Narelle to remain offshore or even curve back towards the Western Australian coastline.

So for communities right across the Top End, do keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings as we head towards landfall on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. You can find all the latest information on our website and app, or follow us on social media. And as always, please stay safe