Wild winds, heavy rain as WA braces for Severe Tropical Cyclone Mitchell to make landfall

Severe Tropical Cyclone Mitchell has intensified to a Category 3 storm and when it makes landfall late tonight in Western Australia, it's set to break an eight-year record.

The storm is forecast to cross the coast tonight, around Onslow, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), but it's effects are already being felt in the Pilbara region.

Senior Meteorologist Angus Hines said Mitchell will become "parallel with the coast" over the coming hours, before barrelling toward the far north-west coastline of WA.

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Hines said Mitchell is forecast to make landfall between Exmouth and Onslow late tonight, before it spins back out into the water.

The storm is projected to then return to land somewhere near Carnarvon on Monday.

"It's likely to be quite late in the day on Sunday, potentially the evening hours, by the time this tropical cyclone does reach the coast," Hines said.

"[It will be a] Category 3 tropical cyclone initially, then dropping to a Category 1 once it makes its way onto the country."

Mitchell is currently located 85 kilometres north-northwest of Karratha and 200 kilometres west of Port Hedland, with wind gusts of up to 195km/h near the centre.

It is forecast to move closer to Onslow this afternoon, while remaining over water as it tracks between Onslow and Exmouth, according to the BoM.

Possible landfall over the southern Exmouth Gulf coast is expected tonight.

Coastal regions including parts of the Pilbara to the west of Dampier are forecast to be battered by destructive wind gusts reaching up to 195km/h.

High tides could cause serious flooding in the Karratha region today, before the Onslow region later this afternoon.

Intense rainfall which could lead to flash flooding is also expected along the Pilbara coast, extending to the west Gascoyne region, into Monday.

Karratha has been soaked by 66mm of rain since 9am yesterday.

The stretch of coast Karratha and Exmouth is forecast to be battered by winds up to 190km/h.

This intense weather system is expected to linger for the next few days, until at least Wednesday, as Mitchell weakens back into a storm.

An emergency warning is in place between Whim Creek to Mardie, including Barrow Island and Montebello Islands, with residents told to shelter indoors immediately.

"It's a really critical next 24 hours for residents in Karratha, Dampier and Onslow," Todd Smith from the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Flights are already grounded, ports, shopping centres and schools are closed, along with 750 kilometres of the North West Coastal Highway.

Residents and volunteers are doing what they can to brace for the incoming storm.

"The community's ready," Karratha Mayor Daniel Scott said.

"They've been tying down their boats, their caravans, the shops are closed and we're all just ready and waiting," he said.

An evacuation centre was opened at the Karratha Leisureplex yesterday.

Storm damage teams in Perth are preparing to head north today as the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) warns those in the Pilbara to expect the unexpected.

"It just takes one piece of tin to be picked up and flown around the area and that can become a dangerous projectile, or a branch from a tree," DFES Incident Controller Todd Pender said.

Heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding are forecast for the area and could extend to the west Gascoyne region.

"Rainfall could cause rivers to rise and burst their banks, and flash flooding could cause areas of flooding anywhere that the rain is heavy, that can lead to road closures and potentially community isolation," BoM's Senior Meteorologist Angus Hines said.

While the cyclone is set to pack a punch after being upgraded to severe status, it's set to fizzle out quickly.

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However, forecasters warn the remnants of the system will continue to be felt across parts of the state for days to come.

"This weather system is not going to dissipate quickly as we continue into Monday and next week, we'll see the remnants of the system, even though it won't be a tropical cyclone anymore, are going to plunge deeply into central parts of Western Australia," Hines said.

Mitchell is the ninth tropical cyclone in the 2025-26 season, and when it crosses the coast, it'll be the fifth this season to do so.

It would be the most cyclones to reach the mainland in eight years, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

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