Cyclone Vance developed off the coast of Darwin between 17 and 18 March, intensifying as it tracked to the west south-west then to the south before crossing the coast near Exmouth on 22 March as a Category 5 system. Wind speeds were recorded at 267 km per hour at Learmonth and 174 km per hour at Onslow. By the 23 March at 4 am it was near the town of Mount Magnet and was moving southeast at 50 km per hour.

Cyclone Vance was downgraded to Category 1 and passed to the northeast of Kalgoorlie on the 23 March 2011 at approximately 3 pm.

The storm surge associated with Cyclone Vance caused severe erosion of the beachfront and marina at Exmouth and stranded three large barges on the edge of Beadon Creek at Onslow. The storm surge at Exmouth was measured at 3.5 m which resulted in a storm tide of 4.9 m.

Severe structural damage occurred to approximately 10 per cent of buildings in Exmouth; many more experienced less obvious damage due to the intrusion of rainwater. Other damage was recorded in the far west of Pilbara, including damage in the town of Cue. Water and power supplies throughout the Gascoyne and Goldfields were disrupted and many homesteads sustained wind or flooding damage. The main rail and road links to the eastern states were cut.

The Insurance Council of Australia estimated the 1999 damage at $35 million, with the 2011 estimated normalised cost at $108 million.