By Savannah Meacham and Keira Jenkins
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Lincoln could bring heavy rain and strong winds to Western Australia’s interior as it moves southeast on Sunday.
The system crossed the coast, near Carnarvon in the state’s north-west late on Saturday night as a tropical low.
It was previously forecast to intensify to a category 1 or 2 cyclone however the Bureau of Meteorology downgraded it on Friday.
Although Lincoln didn’t intensify as predicted, it still brought heavy rain and strong winds.
Since 7am on Saturday morning Carnarvon has received 78 millimetres of rain, and at Geraldton wind gusts of up to 76km/h were recorded.
Flood watches are in place for the Pilbara, Gascoyne Coast and Central West District Rivers.
But severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of the Kimberley have been cancelled.
Evacuation centres have been opened in Carnarvon and Exmouth.
Urban search and rescue specialists are among the dozens of emergency service personnel deployed to communities likely to be affected.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the system is expected to move south towards WA’s wheatbelt on Sunday before dissipating on Monday.
Ex-cyclone Lincoln is set to remain a tropical low, the Bureau of Meteorology says.Credit: Weatherzone
Rain of up to 50 millimetres is predicted for area’s in Lincoln’s path but there is a chance of severe storms and higher falls.
“The rain moving into these areas, particularly around the wheatbelt will be very welcome for what has been a very hot and very dry summer so far for that part of the country,” senior meteorologist Angus Hines said.
Lincoln crossed the Northern Territory coast from the Gulf of Carpentaria late last week as a category 1 cyclone before moving inland across the Top End and into WA as a storm.
It dumped heavy rain across a wide area triggering flood watches and warnings in north-west Queensland, the NT and northern WA before moving offshore again on Wednesday.
-AAP