Cyclone Narelle: Tropical storm reclassified as Category 3 cyclone as wild weather prepares to hit WA

Cyclone Narelle is redeveloping back into a tropical cyclone on Wednesday morning off the far north Kimberly coast, with the storm expected to intensify over waters north of the Pilbara throughout Wednesday and Thursday.

The system is predicted to travel parallel to the coast before moving near the Northwest Capes and curving south towards the west coast, and reach Category 3 late today or tomorrow.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for showers with damaging wind gusts for parts of the far-west Kimberley. The agency said gales with damaging wind gusts up to 100km/h may develop along the coast between Bidyadanga and De Grey during Wednesday morning, with gales forecast to extend further west along the Pilbara coast to Port Hedland and Karratha later Wednesday.

Gales with damaging wind gusts up to 120km/h may develop west to Exmouth during Thursday afternoon and extend further south to Cape Cuvier by Friday morning. Destructive wind gusts to 140km/h may develop on the Pilbara coast near Karratha late Wednesday or early Thursday, extending to Exmouth during Thursday, and to Coral Bay by early Friday.

Large waves may produce minor flooding of low-lying coastal areas.

Showers and gusty thunderstorms will be widespread over the Kimberley, Pilbara, most of the Interior, inland Gascoyne, Goldfields, Eucla and across the northern and eastern parts of the South West Land Division.

Heavy falls are possible across the southwest Kimberley coast and adjacent Pilbara coast, while damaging wind gusts are possible across the Kimberley southwest coast and adjacent Pilbara coast.

It is expected to be windy over the western Kimberley, much of the Pilbara, northwest Interior and Eucla.

Narelle will move to the south southeast during Friday and Saturday, with impacts extending along the Gascoyne coast and expected as far south as the Lower West on the weekend.