Severe Tropical Cyclone Jenna continues active start to Australian cyclone season
Severe Tropical Cyclone Jenna is gaining strength to the northwest of Australia, continuing an unusually active start to the 2025-26 cyclone season for the Australian region.
Jenna became a tropical cyclone as it passed to the east of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands on Monday, January 5. This was the first tropical cyclone to form anywhere in the world in 2026, and the sixth named system inside Australia’s area of responsibility so far this season.
As of 2pm AWST on Tuesday, January 6, Jenna was a category three severe tropical cyclone located around 455 km to the south southwest of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The system is expected to intensify further on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as it moves towards the west southwest. Computer models suggest it will then weaken over the Indian Ocean on Wednesday and Thursday while moving towards the west.
Image: Visible satellite images showing Severe Tropical Cyclone Jenna on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. Source: Weatherzone.
Active start to the season
It is unusual to see this many tropical cyclones in the Australian region so early in the season.
Australia’s official tropical cyclone season runs from the start of November to the end of April. On average, there are around 8 to 10 tropical cyclones in the Australian region during this six-month period.
This season has already produced six named tropical cyclones as of January 6:
Impressively, all six of these systems have formed over, or moved into, Australia’s western region as either a tropical cyclone or tropical low. This is the first time since the 1973-74 season so many tropical cyclones have been located over Australia’s western region this early in the season.
Coral Sea tropical cyclone potential
While there have been no tropical cyclones off Australia's east coast so far this season, a developing tropical low over the Coral Sea could gain strength as it approaches northern Qld later this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology currently gives this system a moderate change of becoming a tropical cyclone from Friday into the weekend. This system is expected to bring heavy rain to parts of northern and central Qld later this week, regardless of whether it becomes a tropical cyclone or remains below cyclone strength.