Just the latest on TC Fina. I am glad I am not up in this area. It eill be a wild afternoon and night. Hope everyone stays safe.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina, Category 3, passing just north of Darwin. Winds are reaching gale-force at Darwin and to increase further in coming hours.
Area affected
Warning zone
The Tiwi Islands and Point Stuart to Wadeye. This includes Darwin, Pirlangimpi, Milikapiti, Wurrumiyanga and Wadeye.
Watch zone
From Wadeye (NT) to Troughton Island (WA) including Kalumburu (WA).
Cancelled zone
None.
At 4:30 pm Australian Central Standard Time
At 4:30 pm ACST
Intensity
category 3, sustained winds near the centre of 150 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 205 kilometres per hour
Location
within 20 kilometres of 11.9 degrees South, 130.9 degrees East, 60 kilometres north of Darwin and 40 kilometres east southeast of Wurrumiyanga
Movement
west southwest at 7 kilometres per hour
Darwin radar and satellite imagery shows Fina on the south coast of Melville Island as a very compact yet strong system. Based on Fina's forecast west southwest track, the very destructive core will to pass just north of Darwin this evening. After passing Darwin, Fina is forecast to maintain severe tropical cyclone intensity on Sunday and into Monday as it moves through the southern Timor Sea, and then start weakening during Monday or Tuesday near the Kimberley coast.
Hazards
VERY DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS to 205 km/h are occurring along the south coast of Melville Island, extending to Bathurst Island with a chance of reaching Wurrumiyanga this evening. Very destructive wind gusts are likely about exposed coastal sites northeast of Darwin (including Gunn Point and Cape Hotham) but the risk at Darwin is assessed as low.
DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS to 155 km/h are likely to extend west over southern parts of the Tiwi islands, including Wurrumiyanga this afternoon. Destructive gusts are expected to extend to the Darwin region in the next three hours and possibly further to Dundee Beach tonight.
GALES with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS to 120 km/h are occurring over Melville Island, adjacent Bathurst Island and from Darwin northeast to Point Stuart. Gales are expected to extend further west to the remainder of the Tiwi Islands this evening. Gales may extend southwest to Dundee Beach tonight, Daly River Mouth early Sunday, and if Fina takes a more southerly track, gales could extend south to Wadeye during Sunday.
Later Sunday or on Monday, GALES may extend to coastal parts of the north Kimberley in WA, from Kalumburu to the WA/NT Border, but not including Wyndham or Kununurra.
HEAVY to LOCALLY INTENSE RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is possible over the Tiwi Islands and the mainland coast between Point Stuart and Dundee Beach, including Darwin, for the remainder of Saturday. The risk of HEAVY RAINFALL about coastal and adjacent inland areas will extend southwest to the Daly River Mouth overnight and on Sunday.
Coastal residents on the Tiwi Islands, and between Cape Hotham and Warruwi are specifically warned that tides are likely to rise above the normal high tide mark with LARGE WAVES and MINOR FLOODING of low-lying coastal areas.
The 512K Darwin Rada and doppler
