Western Australia braced for Tropical Cyclone Heidi
Liam Dutton
Weather Presenter
The north coast of Western Australia is bracing itself for the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Heidi – a category two storm with damaging wind gusts of around 85mph.
Heidi is expected to arrive overnight into Thursday morning local time, with landfall expected along the Pilbara coast, bringing damaging gusts of wind and torrential downpours of rain.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology expects the heaviest rain to fall to the south and east of the storm, with 100-250mm (4-10 inches) of rain possible.
Combined with the potential for a dangerous storm tide as the storm arrives, there’s a significant risk of flooding.
A red alert has been issued for people near coastal areas between Pardoo and Whim Creek, with the Bureau of Meteorology recommending that people should seek shelter immediately.
Heidi formed across the Indian Ocean between Indonesia and Australia after favourable conditions allowed a mass of thunderstorms to become more organised.
Satellite imagery clearly shows Heidi, with a huge swirl of cloud spiralling around the cyclone. Even ahead of the storm, there are bands of showers and thunderstorms that will precede its arrival.
After the storm makes landfall, it will weaken to a tropical low within 12-18 hours. This is because its energy source – the warm, tropical waters – will get cut off when it moves over land.
Although the storm will weaken, it’s still expected to bring further torrential rain and the risk of flooding across other parts of Western Australia during the next few days.
It’s not unusual to get tropical cyclones in the southern hemisphere at this time of year, with the season running from November to April.
Further east across Australia, an onshore wind will bring moisture and humidity to fuel thunderstorms for Queensland and New South Wales this weekend.
Disruption from the thunderstorms affecting these areas is not expected to be widespread, but some places could experience flash flooding where a lot of rain falls in a short space of time.