Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall over the Queensland coast at 07:00 AEST on March 20, 2026, as a high-end Category 4 system after briefly reaching Category 5 intensity a day earlier. The cyclone crossed the coast approximately 75 km south of Lockhart River, weakened to Category 2 by the afternoon, and began moving offshore toward the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Wind speeds reached 100 km/h with 3-second gusts reaching 140 km/h as the system moved west on Friday afternoon. However, prior to crossing the coast, the system had sustained winds near the centre of 205 km per hour and wind gusts to 285 km per hour. Coen has no cyclone shelter, and locals have sought refuge in the few solid brick buildings, with the local pub a popular choice.
The cyclone brought significant rainfall across the peninsula. Rain gauges near the Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers received more than 300 mm of rain between 6:00 pm AEST on Thursday and 1:00 pm on Friday, causing the Wenlock River to rise by more than 10 metres on Friday. More than 500 mm has been forecast around Cooktown, north of Cairns, sparking fears of flash flooding.
Communities in the firing line
TC Narelle brought destructive winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges to communities of the Cape York Peninsula, spanning Lockhart River to Cape Melville on the east coast, and Mapoon to Pormpuraaw on the west coast. Communities directly impacted include Coen, Aurukun (1,200), Weipa, Pormpuraaw, as well as Lockhart River, Hope Vale, and Port Stewart, where evacuations have already taken place.
Lockhart Mayor Wayne Butcher said residents were hunkering down to wait out tropical cyclone Narelle's fury. "It is just howling here at the moment," Butcher said. "The winds are coming from the west and it is gale force. The trees are whistling and swaying side to side."
The defence force evacuated almost 150 people from the NT community of Numbulwar, with hundreds more set to be flown out as Tropical Cyclone Narelle approaches. About 500 people overall are set to make a Darwin high school gymnasium their new home in the coming days.
The second wave ahead
Tropical Cyclone Narelle is expected to make a second landfall over the Northern Territory this weekend after causing severe impacts in northern Queensland on Friday. Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall in northern Qld on Friday morning, crossing the coast as a high-end category 4 system between Coen and Lockhart River.
While Tropical Cyclone Narelle weakened over the Cape York Peninsula on Friday after making landfall, the system is likely to re-intensify as it tracks towards the west across the Gulf of Carpentaria on Friday night into Saturday. The current forecast track map for Narelle predicts that the system will reach the NT's eastern Top End as a category 3 severe tropical cyclone on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Narelle is a very compact cyclone, meaning it has a relatively small area of intense winds around its centre. The area of these destructive hurricane-force winds only extends 50 km from its centre, while destructive storm force and damaging gale-force winds extend 75 km and 130 km, respectively.
The state government was working with the commonwealth on Cyclone Narelle recovery payments. "But equally importantly is the need for the councils to know that we'll have their back to go in and start cleaning those communities up," Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told ABC News.