Cyclone Hayley Strikes Kimberley Coast

So we'll get straight into it by looking at the water vapour imagery. Now this is just really highlighting that the storm has become far more organised with these feeder bands, these curved feeder bands of showers and storms feeding moisture into the core of the system. Also worth noting is this brown area to the west and to the south of the system, which is a very dry air mass. And this dry air mass is significant because it is going to be drawn into the tropical cyclone from tomorrow, weakening the system before it crosses the coast.

So here it is, Tropical Cyclone Hayley, currently a category 2 system sitting around 450 km to the north-west of Broome. Now it has sustained winds near the centre of 95 km/h, with gusting up to 130 km/h. It's moving towards the south at around 11 km/h. But we are expecting it to change direction and start moving towards the south-east this afternoon and intensify into a category 3 system by tomorrow morning.

Now we have issued a Tropical Cyclone Watch all the way from Broome to Kuri Bay. However, we have a Tropical Cyclone Warning from just north of Broome up to Cape Leveque. Now within the Warning area, gales may develop within the next 24 hours. So there is the potential for wind gusts up to 100 km/h to develop about the Dampier Peninsula between north of Broome and Cape Leveque from tomorrow morning.

But then as the system approaches, it does start to weaken as it draws some of that drier air into it. But destructive gusts may still start to develop within that Warning area during Tuesday afternoon. We're expecting it to make landfall tomorrow night or in the early hours of Wednesday morning as a category 2 system, and then continue its trajectory eastwards, where it will weaken to a low pressure system as it moves further in towards the Kimberley.

Now, as it does weaken just weak, it means that the winds are expected to decrease. However, the rain associated with this system may continue even as it moves further inland.

So potential impacts with the tropical cyclone include with those damaging to destructive winds, the potential to bring down trees and cause damage to property, but as well also bring down power lines and cause power outages. Of course, with the heavy rainfall that may bring some flash flooding but also waves and a storm surge with this system that may result in inundation of low-lying areas. And with all of the heavy rain, there's the potential for roads to be closed and for transport routes to be interrupted.

So if you live across the Kimberley area, now is the time to start thinking about preparing your tropical cyclone kit, but as well staying up to date with our latest tropical cyclone maps. These maps will be updated every three hours, and you can access them via the website, the app or social media. But as well, listen to all the advice from your local emergency services. Bye for now.