Severe Tropical Cyclone Chris was first identified by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on 1 February 2002 as a weak area of low pressure over the Timor Sea.

[1] Over the following day, the system tracked towards the southwest, eventually reaching a point roughly 340 km (210 mi) northwest of Broome, Western Australia, at which time it was classified as a tropical low.

[1] Although already considered to have obtained gale-force winds by the BoM, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) assessed the system to have become a tropical depression late on 2 February.

[3] Chris reached peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 230 kilometres per hour (140 mph) as it approached the coast late on 5 February.

The storm made landfall early on 6 February near peak intensity, between Pardoo Station and Wallal, Western Australia.

[5] Ahead of the storm, residents throughout the Pilbara region were placed on high alert as the Category 5 cyclone neared landfall.

[10] In aboriginal communities along the coast, emergency assessment teams discovered that a 500,000 acre cattle farm was completely wiped out.

[11] In remote communities in the Pilbara region, heavy rains, exceeding 100 mm (3.9 in) in several locations, triggered flooding.