Numerical and analytical solutions are presented for multicellular flow instability and the subsequent nonlinear development in a horizontal cylindrical annulus. The Boussinesq approximated Navier–Stokes equations are simplified to Cartesian-like boundary layer equations by means of a high Rayleigh number small gap asymptotic expansion. The full numerical problem is explored for the limiting case of zero Prandtl number. At a finite scaled gap spacing, an instability sets in, which results in periodic multicellular flow. The numerical solutions are found to progress through an increasingly complex sequence of periodic solutions, culminating in a very complex unsteady solution that has features normally associated with chaotic systems.