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End of season cyclone Odette threatens the WA’s North West coast

Brianna DuganThe West Australian
VideoDrone captures rare vision of a 'reindeer cyclone'

WA’s North West is bracing for a possible cyclone as a tropical low brews off the coast.

Residents in Exmouth and Carnarvon are being urged to stay up-to-date with weather forecasts over the coming days as the cyclone threat continues.

The tropical low is expected to develop into a cyclone later tonight and will be named Odette.

If the low develops into a cyclone in Indonesian waters, off the coast of Timor Island, it will be named Seroja — meaning lotus flower.

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The Weather Bureau said the system is forecast to move south-west and could reach a ‘severe strength’ category three.

“Cyclones that are formed towards the end of the season have a greater chance of becoming severe because they tend to form further in the north, giving them more time to develop,” a Bureau of Meteorology statement said.

The Bureau said the system will most likely remain over water, but there is a possibility it will move towards the Pilbara and upper Gascoyne region later in the week.

Maitland Street, which wasstruck by cyclone Olivia in 1996.
Camera IconMaitland Street, which wasstruck by cyclone Olivia in 1996. Credit: Sandra Jackson/WA News

One of WA’s worst end-of-season cyclones happened in April 1996 where cyclone Olivia set a world record for wind speed at 408km/h.

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