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Cyclone Blanche about to make landfall

Ben Domensino, Monday March 6, 2017 - 12:34 AEDT

Tropical Cyclone Blanche will make landfall over Western Australia's Kimberley coast today after passing close to Darwin on Sunday.

Australia's third tropical cyclone of the season moved directly over the Tiwi Islands on the weekend, causing a whopping 384mm of rain within 24 hours at Cape Fourcroy. This deluge was accompanied by gale force winds.

After soaking the Tiwi Islands, Blanche continued on a southwesterly track into the Timor Sea on Sunday. This path spared Darwin from the worst of it, although squally thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds featured in the city between Friday night and Sunday morning.

Darwin Airport registered 119mm of rain during the last three days. Further south, Channel Point picked up 145mm in just the 24 hours to 9am today, making it their wettest March day in nine years.

Cyclone Blanche has moved across the Timor Sea a bit faster than anticipated this morning and will make landfall over the Kimberley coast today as a category two system.

A Cyclone Warning was issued at 9:09am WST for the coast and adjacent inland areas between Wadeye and Mitchell Plateau. Gale force winds and heavy rain are possible throughout the warning area into this afternoon. Destructive gusts may occur near the centre of the cyclone as it makes landfall, most likely between Kalumburu and Wyndham. Large waves and higher than normal tides could also contribute to coastal river flooding between the Daly River Mouth and Kuri Bay today.

The latest cyclone track maps and warning information can be found at: http://www.weatherzone.com.au/charts/tropicalcyclone.jsp

- Weatherzone

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