Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle has been downgraded to a tropical low as of Saturday evening, bringing an end to a destructive week-long journey that spanned the entire Australian continent. The system is currently moving toward the Wheatbelt and is expected to exit into the Southern Ocean tonight.
Residents in the Gascoyne region witnessed a surreal "blood red" sky on Friday as the storm approached the coast. Intense winds reaching up to 250 km/h whipped up massive quantities of iron-rich outback dust, creating a dense crimson haze over Carnarvon, Denham, and Shark Bay.
Carnarvon Shire President Eddie Smith reported that the town was engulfed in the pink dust for approximately two hours. Locals described the experience as having "no filter," with thick dust filling eyes and mouths before heavy rains eventually cleared the air.
Narelle has secured its place in the meteorological record books as the first storm in over 20 years to make landfall in three separate Australian jurisdictions. Following its initial strike in Queensland as a Category 4, it moved through the Northern Territory and finally Western Australia.
The system traveled more than 5,700 kilometers from its origin near the Solomon Islands. Scientists have linked the storm’s sustained intensity to record-high ocean temperatures in the Coral Sea, which fueled its initial development and allowed it to maintain strength across the landmass.
The holiday town of Exmouth suffered what officials described as "devastation" after bearing the brunt of Category 4 winds. A local evacuation center was partially unroofed while 40 people were sheltering inside, though no major injuries were immediately reported.
A local service station in Exmouth was also destroyed, with fuel bowsers torn apart by the wind. Power and water supplies remain cut off in both Exmouth and Onslow, while more than 600 properties in Carnarvon are currently without electricity.
While the immediate threat of wind damage has passed, a flood watch remains in place as far south as Perth. Western Australian Premier Roger Cook confirmed that emergency crews are currently assessing the scale of the damage across the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions.