File:Megan Makes Landfall in Northern Territory (MODIS 2024-03-19).jpg

English: On March 18, 2024, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Severe Tropical Cyclone Megan near the time it was making landfall in Northern Territory, Australia. The storm’s convective bands covered the Gulf of Carpentaria as well as much of Northern Territory and Queensland, bringing high wind and stormy weather across those regions.

According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) Megan crossed the southern coast of coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, south of Centre Island, at 0500 UTC (3:30 p.m. Australian Central Standard Time) on March 18.Maximum sustained winds were estimated at about 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) with gusts up to 124 miles per hour (200 km/h) just before landfall. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology warned that the system “will cause and extended period of damaging winds to communities near the track”.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Megan formed over the Gulf of Carpentaria east of Groote Eylandt on the afternoon on March 15, initially moving to the east. It then took a turn southward as it strengthened. There have also been reports of damage to at least one wharf on the coast of Northern Territory.

Fortunately, Megan rapidly weakened once over land, becoming a tropical low with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (56 km/h) late on March 18.