Forecast

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Tropical Cyclone Advice
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

Media: The Standard Emergency Warning Signal should NOT be used with this warning.

PRIORITY

TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 2
Issued at 04:45 PM EST on Tuesday 17 March 2026

Headline:
Tropical Cyclone Narelle has developed in the Coral Sea, and is expected to bring severe impacts to Far North Queensland.

Areas Affected:
Warning zone: None.

Watch zone: Lockhart River to Port Douglas, and adjacent inland areas.

Cancelled zone: None.

Details of Tropical Cyclone Narelle 34U at 4:00 pm AEST:
Intensity: Category 1, sustained winds near the centre of 85 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 120 kilometres per hour.
Location: within 35 kilometres of 12.7 degrees South 156.3 degrees East, estimated to be 790 kilometres east northeast of Willis Island and 1240 kilometres east northeast of Cooktown.
Movement: west southwest at 16 kilometres per hour.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle (34U) has developed into a tropical cyclone in the northern Coral Sea. Narelle is expected to move steadily to the west and approach the far northeast Queensland coast between Lockhart River and Port Douglas. A severe impact is likely late in the week.

Hazards:
DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS to 155 km/hr are possible between Coen and Cooktown from Thursday night.
Gales with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS to 120 km/hr are possible between Cape Melville and Port Douglas from early Thursday morning.
Gales with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS to 120 km/hr are also possible between Lockhart River and Cape Melville from Thursday afternoon.
HEAVY RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is possible between Cape Melville and Port Douglas from Thursday evening, and extending inland during Friday. LOCALLY INTENSE RAINFALL is possible between Lockhart River and Cape Melville, and also inland areas west of Coen, from Friday.
Tides will be higher than normal between Coen and Port Douglas. LARGE WAVES may produce MINOR FLOODING of low-lying coastal areas. There is a small risk that tides may approach the highest tide of the year during Friday.
Tides in Princess Charlotte Bay may rise significantly above the normal high tide, DAMAGING WAVES and DANGEROUS FLOODING is possible for low-lying coastal areas.

Recommended Action:
- Stay informed by checking your local government s Disaster Dashboards for the latest updates.
- For cyclone preparedness and safety advice, visit the Get Ready Queensland website www.getready.qld.gov.au
- For non-life threatening emergency assistance contact State Emergency Services (SES) online via the SES Assistance QLD App, Apple , Android, online 132500.qld.gov.au, or call 132 500 from anywhere in Queensland.

Cyclone advices and DFES Alerts are available by dialling 13 DFES (13 3337)

A map showing the track of the cyclone is available at:
http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, Australia

Flood Watch For Parts Of The Cape York Peninsula And North Tropical Coast
Issued at 01:26 PM AEST on Tuesday 17 March 2026
Flood Watch Number: 16
RENEWED MINOR TO ISOLATED MODERATE FLOODING POSSIBLE FROM THURSDAY ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPING TROPICAL LOW
FLOODING CONTINUES ACROSS PARTS OF THE FLOOD WATCH AREA

Catchments likely to be affected include:
Jacky Jacky Creek
Olive and Pascoe Rivers
Lockhart River
Stewart River
Normanby River
Jeannie River
Endeavour River
Daintree River
Mossman River
Barron River
Mulgrave and Russell Rivers
Johnstone River
Tully River
Murray River
Herbert River
Staaten River
Mitchell River
Coleman and Edward Rivers
Holroyd and Kendall Rivers
Archer and Coen Rivers
Watson River
Embley and Mission Rivers
Wenlock River
Ducie, Jackson and Skardon Rivers
Jardine River

A tropical cyclone advice is current for Far North Queensland.

For the latest flood and weather warnings see www.bom.gov.au/weather-and-climate/warnings-and-alerts
For the latest rainfall and river level information see www.bom.gov.au/australia/flood

Flood Safety Advice:
Don't drive, walk, swim or play in floodwater because it is dangerous.
Stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams and waterways.
Obey road closure signs. Plan ahead so you don't drive on flooded roads.
Check the ABC and local media for updates. The situation can change quickly, so stay informed.
For local emergency management warnings and advice visit www.disaster.qld.gov.au/warnings.}
For emergency assistance call SES on telephone number 132 500. In life-threatening emergencies, call 000 (triple zero) immediately.

Next issue:
The next Flood Watch will be issued by 02:00 PM AEST on Wednesday 18 March 2026.