Cyclone Joyce fails to gain strength, expected to cross Kimberley coast as category one
Updated
Cyclone Joyce is expected to fully cross the coast of Western Australia today as a significantly weaker system than predicted.
The category one storm had been skirting the Kimberley coast throughout the night.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Craig Earl-Spurr said it was unlikely to reach the previously expected strength of category three.
"It's passed Bidyadanga, but sitting near the coast it means that it hasn't strengthened overnight," he said.
"It's expected to continue moving towards the south-west as a category one, and continue to bring gales to the West Kimberley coast.
"Cyclones need time over water to strengthen, and with the previous forecast of it spending that time over water there was a greater risk of it being a stronger system.
"So the good thing about it getting to the coast a bit sooner is that it has less time to develop and we don't expect to see any impacts greater than a category one".
Joyce is expected to cross the coast between Broome and Port Hedland this afternoon.
There is a red alert for people living in areas south of Broome to Bidyadanga, with a yellow alert for those south of Bidyadanga to Wallal.
Those near and between Wallal and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland, are warned to prepare for cyclonic weather.
Winds at the centre of the cyclone are about 85 kilometres per hour, with gusts of up to 120 kph
Mr Earl-Spurr said even though the system was not as powerful as expected, there were still dangers associated with Joyce, and there would be a lot of rain.
"There's still going to be some impacts along the coast, and [we] still expect to see rain extend inland over the Western Kimberley and parts of the Pilbara over the coming days.
"Although it's weaker, the strength of the system is to do with the strength of the winds, so the rain impacts are still expected to be as heavy as previously forecast."
Topics: cyclones, broome-6725, wa, port-hedland-6721
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