Forecast

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Tropical Cyclone Advice
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

Media: The Standard Emergency Warning Signal should NOT be used with this warning.

TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST

TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 7
Issued at 05:45 PM WST on Friday 06 February 2026

Headline:
Tropical Low 21U to develop into a tropical cyclone early Saturday morning north of the Pilbara coast.

Areas Affected:
Warning zone: De Grey to Dampier, including Port Hedland and Karratha

Watch zone: Cape Preston to Exmouth, including Onslow and extending inland through the western Pilbara to include Pannawonica.

Cancelled zone: None.

Details of Tropical Low 21U at 5:00 pm AWST:
Intensity: Tropical Low, sustained winds near the centre of 55 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 85 kilometres per hour.
Location: within 35 kilometres of 18.5 degrees South 120.4 degrees East, estimated to be 275 kilometres northeast of Port Hedland and 450 kilometres northeast of Karratha.
Movement: west southwest at 25 kilometres per hour.
Tropical Low 21U is located over water to the northeast of Port Hedland and is moving in a west southwest direction. It is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone early Saturday morning.
21U will continue to move generally west southwest, remaining offshore initially before turning towards the southwest later on Saturday and tracking closer to the Pilbara coast.
21U is expected to intensify to category 2 strength by Saturday evening. There is a slight possibility that 21U may further intensify to category 3 overnight Saturday if it moves more slowly than forecast and remains over warm offshore waters.
On its current track, 21U is expected to make landfall over the western Pilbara coast late on Sunday.

Hazards:
DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS to 150 km/h are possible for coastal parts of the Pilbara around Karratha, Dampier and Wickham from Saturday afternoon as the centre of 21U approaches the coast. Destructive winds may extend further west along the coast towards Onslow and Exmouth during Sunday.
GALES with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS to 120 km/h are possible for coastal parts between De Grey and Mardie during Saturday, extending west to Onslow and Exmouth and through inland parts of the western Pilbara, including Pannawonica on Sunday.
Widespread moderate to locally HEAVY RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is possible from early Saturday with this risk persisting through the weekend for the Pilbara coast.
Tides between Wickham and Exmouth are likely to rise above the normal high tide mark on Saturday and Sunday and LARGE WAVES may produce FLOODING of low-lying coastal areas.

Recommended Action:
Ensure you know what to do in a cyclone. For the latest DFES community alerts and warnings visit www.emergency.wa.gov.au or download the Emergency WA app.

Cyclone advices and DFES Alerts are available by dialling 13 DFES (13 3337)

A map showing the track of the cyclone is available at:
http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone