Australia Weather News

Communities along Western Australia's Pilbara coast are in the grips of another day of wild weather, as Tropical Cyclone Mitchell continues to track along the coast.

The cyclone is currently at category three strengthmoving over the coasting mining town of Onslow. 

The cyclone's progress along the coast slowed late on Saturday, with Karratha hit with recorded wind gusts nearing 100kilometres per hour overnight.

An emergency cyclone warning is in place for residents south of Mardie to north of Coral Bay, including Onslow, Exmouth, and coastal islands including Barrow Island and Montebello Islands. 

Karratha recorded 90 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am today, and wind gusts have begun to ease.

Trees have been pulled out of the ground in the area, and debris litters the roads and footpaths.

Much stronger conditions were experienced on the region's offshore islands, with gusts of 163 kph recorded on Legendre Island, and 137 kph recorded on Barrow Island, home to Chevron's oil and gas facilities.

With Karratha's emergency warning lifted just after 9am on Sunday, residents were also making the most of some long-awaited rainfall.

Lewis Nicholl, 14, from Dampier was enjoying skimboarding on the cricket pitch today.

"Hopefully school gets cancelled tomorrow, so we can do this for another day," he said.  

Landfall forecast for the Exmouth Gulf

Tropical Cyclone Mitchell will continue tracking south-west along the coast past Onslow today.

The Bureau of Meteorology says it will continue at the same intensity, bringing destructive winds, abnormally high tides, heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding.

The bureau is forecasting the cyclone will make landfall close to the tourist town of Exmouth overnight as a severecategory three system.

It is then expected to weaken to a category two as it passes Coral Bay and the Gascoyne agricultural town of Carnarvon into Monday. 

An evacuation centre has opened at the Shire of Exmouth Hall and Carnarvon's PCYC and in Onslow.

Slower cyclone means prolonged impact

Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the system had slowed compared to earlier forecasts.

"The period when you might see the heavy rainfall, the period when you might see the gale force winds and damaging wind gusts, might be slightly longer than originally anticipated," she said.

A high tide is expected at Onslow around 3pm.

While an earlier-than-forecast 3pm high tide in Onslow is being received as good news, there is still a risk of coastal inundation in low-lying areas, Ms Bradbury said. 

"As this system moves across those open waters but close to the coast, we are expecting an elevated sea state and large waves," she said.  

"The big three impacts [are] the winds, the rain and the marine impacts; we need to have them on the top of our mind throughout the rest of today."

The bureau is publishing hourly updates on the cyclone and its forecast path. 

Residents bunker down

Residents in the much-loved tourist town of Exmouth are bunkering down, with destructive winds, heavy rainfall and high tides forecast.

While it is the low season for tourism, Ningaloo Caravan Park manager Rachel Wells said there were still many guests who sought more secure accommodation.

"We had around 90 campervans, rooftops. Most of them decided it would be better to go to a safe place," she said.

"Some of them have gone into chalets … I think everyone is now in a good place.

"We just have to trust we are safe, and we have done everything we can to be safe."

Engine room standstill

The Pilbara is often referred to as the "engine room" of the Australian economy, with large quantities of resources extracted and exported from the region.

Several mining companies evacuated staff ahead of Cyclone Mitchell.

Pilbara Ports shut the ports of Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier, Port Hedland and Varanus Island ahead of the cyclone's approach.

The port of Port Hedland has reopened.