Tropical Cyclone Narelle continued to sweep across northern Australia in late March 2026, making landfall in Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia. Press the play button in the lower left corner of the image to view an animation of the cyclone's movements from March 19 to 27.
The brightness temperature layer from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard NOAA-20 (a joint NASA/NOAA platform) shows the swirling tropical cyclone in dark purple. Brightness temperature does not provide an accurate temperature of either clouds or the land surface, but it does show relative temperature differences ,which can be used to distinguish features both in clouds and over clear land.
It is relatively rare for a storm to make landfall in three Australian states and territories, with the last two being Cyclone Ingrid in 2005 and Cyclone Steve in 2000.
Visit Worldview to visualize near real-time imagery and discover historical imagery from NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Find more imagery in our Worldview weekly image archive.