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Brace for Impact: Residents Brace for ‘Severe Weather System’ as Category 3 Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle Heads toward Norfolk Island
- Category 3 Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle Intensifies
- The cyclone rushes towards Norfolk Island and will arrive in a matter of hours
- More than 2,000 people on the island preparing for the impact
Norfolk Island is preparing for Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle to hit the island in the next 24 hours.
Hundreds of residents have taken shelter as the severe storm batters the region.
By Friday morning, Gabrielle had intensified to a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone and was located approximately 1,410 km northwest of Norfolk Island and 600 km off the Queensland coast.
The Norfolk Island Cyclone Response Plan has been activated and has been raised to an Orange Alert, meaning residents have been warned to prepare for impact within the next 12 to 24 hours.
About 2,200 residents living on Norfolk Island are bracing for extreme conditions over the weekend, with the strongest winds expected from 2 p.m. Saturday.
Authorities warned that conditions could be “the most severe weather system” ever experienced on the island.
Norfolk Island is preparing for Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle to make landfall and traverse the island in the next 24 hours as the Category 3 system intensifies.
The Met Office says winds of up to 205 km/h are expected to batter the island.
“Gales gusting up to 120 km/h are expected to develop on Norfolk Island during Saturday morning,” the office said.
Destructive winds are expected to develop late Saturday afternoon and continue into the evening with very destructive winds with gusts up to 205 km/h possible as the core of the system passes through Saturday night.
Abnormally high tides are expected on Norfolk Island. Very high waves can cause localized damage and possible coastal erosion.’
Due to the current cyclone warning, more winds and waves are expected for the New South Wales and Queensland coasts this weekend.
There are around 2,200 people residing on Norfolk Island and residents are being told to prepare for extreme weather over the weekend, with the strongest winds expected to hit the island from 2pm on Saturday.
George Plant of Norfolk Island Emergency Management said 9News the storm is “probably the most severe weather system we’ve ever experienced” on the island.
“It’s right on the edge of what we think is manageable, probably because most of them don’t get that close,” he said.
“As you can see, a lot of the buildings are older, built before the cyclone ratings, so our expectation is that some of those buildings will fail.”
Plant urged residents to keep up with information via radio or the Internet.
Weatherzone forecasters believe the system will likely weaken from a Category 3 to a Category 2 system by the time it makes landfall.
Weatherzone forecasters believe the system will likely have weakened from a Category 3 system to a Category 2 system by the time it makes landfall (Pictured: Norfolk Island)
“While it should have weakened back to a Category Two system by the time it reaches Norfolk Island, Gabrielle will still be strong enough to produce destructive hurricane force winds, abnormally high tides, and heavy rain this weekend,” Weatherzone says.
After passing through Norfolk Island, forecasters aren’t sure which path it will take and how it will transition.
Some forecast models suggest that the severe cyclone may become a strong extratropical cyclone.
This could bring severe weather to the North Island of New Zealand as early as Sunday.
Extratropical cyclones can produce anything from light rain to strong gales, thunderstorms, and blizzards.