The precursor disturbance drifted over Top End and later across the northeastern portion of Western Australia, and after emerging into the Indian Ocean it strengthened into a tropical storm.

The precursor disturbance produced heavy rainfall in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, causing record flooding and some road damage.

[1] The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) office in Darwin, which is the local Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre, began issuing advisories on the system late on 23 March while it was located about 85 km (53 mi) east-south-east of Wyndham, Western Australia.

Environmental conditions favored intensification as an anticyclone developed over the storm, which provided good outflow and low vertical wind shear.

[2] After executing a small loop over water, the disturbance continued westward, crossing over the northern portion of Western Australia before emerging into the Indian Ocean on 26 March.

Three hours later, the BoM office in Perth upgraded the storm to Tropical Cyclone Glenda about 260 km (160 mi) north of Derby, Western Australia.

[2] Upon reaching open waters, Glenda quickly intensified, and midday on 27 March the BoM upgraded it to tropical cyclone status, or the equivalence of a minimal hurricane.

By 27 March, Glenda had developed a banding eye, and subsequently began rapid deepening, with warm water temperatures of over 30 °C (86 °F) and a very favourable upper-level environment.

The BoM maintained Glenda as a Category 5 cyclone until 29 March,[3] and initially it was forecast to turn southward to move ashore near the populated region of Karratha at high tide.

The cyclone turned south and south-south-eastward and rapidly weakened over land in an area of increasing wind shear, and early on 31 March the BoM downgraded Glenda to a tropical low.

[2] 905 hPa (26.72 inHg) The precursor system dropped heavy rainfall on 23 March in the eastern Kimberley in the state of Western Australia.