Ex-tropical cyclone weakens but heavy rain and flooding persist

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54 kilometres north-east of where it was predicted to hit Port Hedland, as a category 4 storm around 12.30pm (3.30pm AEDST) the previous day.

It brought heavy rain and strong winds, which knocked over trees, flooded roads and damaged houses, before easing overnight and into the early hours of this morning.

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Today, the Bureau of Meteorology announced the system has lost its classification as a tropical cyclone and is now affecting the region as a tropical low.

A tropical low is currently situated over the eastern Pilbara, south-west of Marble Bar, and is moving in a southerly direction.

"It's expected to head out of the Pilbara region and shift into the far north-eastern part of the Gascoyne. Heavy rain is still forecasted as it continues moving south," said Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist.

It's tipped to deliver 24-hour rainfall totals of up to 100mm, which could cause flash flooding in the southeast Pilbara and northeast Gascoyne regions today.

The rain is expected to clear up by this evening.

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There's a major flood happening in the De Grey River Catchment area.

A flood alert has been issued for the rivers along the Pilbara coast and a preliminary flood warning has been issued for the Sandy Desert.

The Fortescue, Ashburton and Gascoyne Rivers are under a flood warning.

But, as the tropical low promises heavy rainfall totals, more rivers could experience flooding.

"There's also a flood warning in place covering most of northern WA, as we can expect new rivers to experience flooding conditions over the next day or two due to the impending rainfall," Hines said.

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The SES has already received 60 requests for assistance.

It's still too soon to gauge the full extent of the damage caused by the former tropical cyclone.

The region's gonna get some respite from the rain by tomorrow, when the weather is expected to become more scattered.

"We'll start to see some gaps and some holes in the rain," Hines said.

It'll ease off and the rain totals will get less on Sunday as all that moisture moves southwards.

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