When making landfall the Learmonth Meteorological Office (35 km south of Exmouth) recorded the highest Australian wind gust of 267 km/h (166 mph).

The storm then quickly reached tropical depression strength as it curved over the Northern Territory causing no damage.

Interacting with a subtropical ridge, the storm moved westward and then southwestward where it reached Category 1 cyclone status on the 19th.

The cyclone then continued southwestward, strengthening to a Category 5 storm overnight on 20 March with gusts of more than 280 km/h (170 mph) winds.

Elsewhere, floodwaters washed out several roads and affected areas already impacted by Cyclone Elaine days earlier.

The remnants of Vance produced gale-force winds that caused a dust storm that struck Adelaide for several hours with visibility down to a few meters, and knocked down powerlines in Melbourne, leaving 50,000 people without power.