Tourists flee as cyclones set to converge off north coast of WA

Three tropical cyclones are set to converge off north WA, in a rare clash of systems that could have devastating consequences.

Tropical Cyclone Seroja is heading towards the WA coast along with two other cyclones.

Three tropical cyclones are expected to converge off the north coast of Western Australia at the weekend, with climate experts predicting a rare clash of systems that could lead to dangerous weather.

Tropical cyclone Seroja, the system that wreaked havoc across Timor last weekend, will close in on two other low tropical systems brewing in the Indian Ocean, approximately 650km northwest of Exmouth.

The rare and potentially dramatic convergence of systems known as the Fujiwhara Effect is likely to lead to a brief but intense window of wild weather along much of the West Australian coast.

The cyclone is currently moving at a speed of 29 kilometres per hour and is predicted to strengthen to a category two or three cyclone as it advances across open waters, before moving along the coast between Jurien Bay and Carnarvon this weekend.

Cyclone Seroja, which killed more than 90 people in Timor, is set to strengthen as it moves towards the West Australian coast.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, it will evolve into a category three storm by Sunday morning, possibly overtaking another cyclone in an event senior climatologists have likened to two planets colliding.

“The reason such a large part of Western Australia is expected to be affected is because two tropical systems are expected to approach WA’s coast at different times,” the Bureau of Meteorology said in a statement on Thursday.

The first is from a tropical low that could bring heavy rain and gale force winds to the Exmouth area on Saturday night.

If the tropical low intensifies to category 1 by Friday, it will be named Tropical Cyclone Odette.

Late on Sunday or on Monday, Tropical Cyclone Seroja is expected to cross the coast as a category 2 or 3.

Another tropical low is also looming near the Cocos Islands.

Tourists holidaying in Western Australia’s north have been warned to leave the area as three cyclones converge. Picture: BOM

BOM senior meteorologist James Ashley said three powerful systems developing at the same time was “extremely uncommon”.

“I’ve been working here in Perth for over 20 years and I’ve never seen us have three systems so close to being cyclones or being cyclones at the one time,” he told reporters.

“Generally, cyclones tend to need a bit of space between them so they don’t mess each other’s inflow and winds and moisture feeds and things like that.”

The BoM warned Seroja was likely to bring dangerous weather conditions to the west coast during Sunday or Monday.

“This is a rare event for people on the west coast of Western Australia with potential impacts in the area between Coral Bay and Jurien Bay, including Carnarvon, Denham, Kalbarri and Geraldton,” the BoM said.

How unusual is it for tropical cyclones to venture down Australia's west coast? Since 1970, we have seen 28 systems passing within 400 km of Geraldton as either tropical or ex-tropical cyclones. These were their tracks.

Image: @BOM_aupic.twitter.com/TEb2dwt1c5

— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) April 8, 2021

But severe weather conditions could also be felt along the south coast, all the way to Perth and even inland into the Wheatbelt and southern Goldfields during Monday.

Earlier, tourists holidaying in Western Australia’s north were warned to leave the area as the state prepared for fierce storms.

People between Onslow and Perth are urged to prepare for tough weather conditions, with dangerous surf and a storm surge making the ocean treacherous, the BOM warned.

The system has a range of possible coastal crossings, stretching from Carnarvon to Mandurah about 1000 kilometres south.

While the system is unlikely to reach Perth, the Western Australian capital is preparing for any scenario. WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services has warned of a prolonged, dangerous and unpredictable period of weather, urging travellers to stay alert and be prepared.

DFES has issued a warning to tourists in mid-west Gascoyne and the Pilbara region, with Acting Commissioner Craig Waters saying people should reconsider travel plans.

“We know there are many holiday-makers in the area and others making their way there, many of whom will not have experienced a cyclone before,” Commissioner Waters said.

“If you‘re in a tent or caravan, you are simply not protected against the damaging winds that may hit the region.”

The BOM expects the cyclone will make landfall between Perth and Coral Bay late on Sunday or early Monday.

With NCA