First, let's have a look at the satellite and Tropical Cyclone Luana was named in the early hours of Saturday morning, just off the coast of Broome. As we head into the middle of the day, it is currently a category one system just off the coast of the Dampier Peninsula and is expected to cross the coast through Saturday afternoon and evening, likely as a category two system.
Ahead of this, we have issued a Tropical Cyclone Warning that extends from Broome in the south up to Kuri Bay in the north, and does include Derby and a number of communities to inland parts of the Kimberley.
And so now having a look at the latest radar, we can see Tropical Cyclone Luana spinning in a clockwise fashion just off the coast, bringing heavy rainfall. As you can see with these yellow shades, and rainfall totals are now starting to build. It is also bringing strong winds. We've already seen wind gusts above 90 km/h across some parts of the coast.
And so within that warning area, what can we expect with landfall this afternoon. First, damaging to destructive winds. So destructive winds of up to 130 km/h are possible, briefly near where the cyclone crosses. And that may include Derby as we head into Saturday night. Damaging winds up to 120 km/h are also possible for southern portions of the warning area, including for Broome as we head into the rest of Saturday.
Heavy rain leading to flash flooding is also possible, and this may cause roads to become flooded and communities to become isolated.
We are also looking at the possibility of dangerous storm tides, particularly on the high tide during Saturday afternoon, and there is particular concern about the King Sound, where we could see inundation of low-lying areas as well as dangerous waves.
So now having a look at the latest track map, we can see Tropical Cyclone Luana reaching category two strength before crossing the coast during the afternoon, moving down towards Derby. And as we head into Sunday, doing a bit of a southerly turn and weakening back into a Tropical Low, continuing to move southwards through the interior of Western Australia as we head into Monday, the public holiday.
And this track map here will change slightly with the latest guidances and so it is important to stay up to date with the latest information.
So in addition to the Tropical Cyclone Warning, we also do have a Severe Weather Warning. And that's around the periphery of that Tropical Cyclone Warning. We are looking at the potential for heavy rain and damaging winds from Saturday night and into Sunday, through this yellow area here.
But this area is dynamic and will change depending on how the system moves and as the system progresses southwards through the west of the rest of Western Australia. Keep up to date with this warning as well, if you are outside that initial Tropical Cyclone Warning area.
As you know, having a look at the latest model guidance beyond Monday, we can see the remnants of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Luana to continue to move southwards, bringing heavy rain to the interior of Western Australia. And also generating widespread thunderstorms across the northern part of the Kimberley, though continuing to dip down as we head into Tuesday, bringing heavy rainfall for parts of southern WA.
But it will depend on where that system does exactly move as we head into the middle of the week.
And so with heavy rain forecast, we do also have a Flood Watch current that covers quite a broad area of Western Australia, all the way from the northern Kimberley and down into the interior. Once the rain does start to fall, we are expecting rivers and creeks to rise and some secondary dirt roads could become washed away, and that could impact travellers as well as more isolated communities.
So as Tropical Cyclone Luana crosses the coast during Saturday afternoon, it is important that you stay up to date with the latest information and warnings. You can get these on our website and our app.
