Cyclone Narelle: Long-lived system downgraded to tropical low, bypasses Geraldton and Kalbarri overnight

The Mid West has dodged a bullet, as ex-tropical cyclone Narelle rapidly weakened in strength and moved eastwards overnight, leaving the coastal towns of Geraldton and Kalbarri unscathed. On Friday March 28, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) originally forecast the cyclone to move over Geraldton in the early hours of Saturday morning as a category one system. However, as the city prepared and braced for impact, residents woke up fresh on Saturday morning with a full night’s sleep and no cyclone damage. The strongest wind gust recorded at Geraldton Airport was 56km/h, while only 1.6mm of rain was recorded. Towns including Exmouth and Carnarvon received a pummeling from Narelle. Jessica Lingard, BoM meteorologist, said the bureau was originally looking to downgrade the system to a tropical low at 8am Saturday, yet made the call early at 6am. “The cyclone moved well inland once it made its coastal crossing and because those stronger winds were on the eastern side of the system, coastal communities like Kalbarri and Geraldton didn’t feel it as it took a more easterly path,” she said. “It turned out the coastal communities ended up being completely removed from the risk area. We do still have a huge severe weather warning out today that covers central parts of the Gascoyne all the way down to the Esperance coastline.” The severe weather warning doesn’t include the coastal areas of Kalbarri and Geraldton but does include more inland areas like Morawa and Mullewa. Mount Magnet did experience a wind gust on Saturday morning of 85km/h. In the Mid West and Gascoyne region, there were 15 call-outs to SES for assistance. Seven of those came from Carnarvon, which saw some of the worst damage in the region. The other eight calls for assistance were from Spalding, Geraldton, Wandina, Utakarra and Morgantown. Ms Lingard said as the system continued to peter out, BoM was expecting to see the remnants of Narelle reach the Esperance coastline at 8pm Saturday. Ex-tropical cyclone Narelle was a long lived system, with a lifespan lasting 10 days, impacting Queensland, the Northern Territory and WA. City of Greater Geraldton mayor Jerry Clune said the people of Geraldton would be feeling a sense of relief on Saturday morning. “It was the best result we could have hoped for ... it was good practice though,” he said. “Days ago the weather bureau said the tracking pattern is this, and that it could be anywhere within 400km of that. They told us don’t emphasise on middle line because it could go either way of that. So we had to take caution.” Mr Clune said it appeared inland communities including Mullewa, Morawa and Yalgoo had fared OK overnight. “If it had kept coming down the coast and if it had stayed off into the ocean we would have been in big trouble,” he said. “Fortunately it drifted in that direction where there are not so many towns and it’s not quite as populous. “We saw what happened to Kalbarri when a decent blow comes through ... and we’ve got buildings of a similar quality.” Geraldton resident Katie Perella had prepared for the worst but counted herself lucky the cyclone didn’t come close to the city. “We were told it was going to be a category 2 cyclone, which is something I’ve never had to prepare for before,” she said. “We charged up all our electronic goods, made sure we had groceries at home, had sandbags at the doors around the house, a medical kit in the hallway, which we were told is the safest place to bunker down in the cyclone. “We packed away all the wood and things out in the yard but overnight there’s been absolutely nothing, barely a sprinkle of rain and what feels like normal to low winds for Geraldton. “We’ve been really lucky.” Mr Clune said about 35 people had gone to the evacuation centre at the Geraldton Basketball Stadium by Friday afternoon, many of them in mobile homes and caravans. Of the people taking refuge at the stadium, a group of backpackers on a trip around the west coast spoke highly of the facilities. Filip Kamer, Isobel Schwesig, Finja Winter, and Kristian Humphrey decided to come to the evacuation centre for peace of mind, after strong winds made sleeping in their rooftop tent difficult the night before. Ms Winter said the free food, coffee and tea facilities, and shower were a nice change after being on the road, and Mr Kamer agreed the burgers provided were a bonus. It was definitely a quieter morning around Geraldton foreshore and CBD, which is usually buzzing on a Saturday morning. Some stores and cafe along Marine Terrace remained closed for the day, while some had moved their sandbags to the side to welcome customers. Geraldton Airport is back open and operating, while the Meru tip will be reopened from 12pm on Saturday and the Geraldton Visitor Centre from 9.30am on Sunday. Rubbish that is usually collected on Fridays will be picked up on Sunday. It will be back to business as usual from Monday.