Wet and windy over southwest WA from Sunday, another cloud band for the northwest

20/05/2022

Issued at: 1.20pm on Friday, 20 May 2022

A strong cold front is due to cross the west coast on Sunday afternoon with strong winds and rain extending through to Monday and Tuesday as a low-pressure system follows the cold front across the southwest.

The front will cross the west coast initially, impacting areas from Geraldton to Windy Harbour before moving through the agricultural areas later on Sunday afternoon or evening.

While the strength of this cold front is typical for this time of the year, a low pressure system is expected to move over southwestern WA late on Monday or early on Tuesday which will see the wet and windy conditions intensifying for a period.

Thunderstorms and damaging wind gusts are possible on Sunday afternoon as the front moves through, with windy conditions resulting in rough seas.

A large 4-5m swell will hit the entire west coast from Cape Leeuwin to Exmouth on Monday.

On Sunday, 8-20mm of rainfall is possible for coastal areas, while up to 50 mm is possible on Monday with higher totals about the Darling Scarp.

Agricultural areas may receive accumulated rainfall between 15-30mm over the two days.

Lighter falls are expected through the Albany area.

In the north, another unseasonal cloud band is expected to form over the Pilbara, northeast Gascoyne and northern Goldfields on Saturday bringing more rain and thunderstorms to the area until Tuesday.

While this rainband is unlikely to bring as much rain as this week, it will affect a similar area and is likely to make existing wet conditions worse.

Many areas in the western Pilbara have now received five times their usual May monthly rainfall.

The Bureau is recommending communities stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings through the Bureau's website and BOM Weather app.