The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has raised concerns about the potential formation of a tropical cyclone to the west of Darwin in the coming days.
The monsoon is expected to sweep across Australia’s north towards the end of the week, bringing a 25 per cent chance of a cyclone over the weekend.
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BOM senior meteorologist Sally Cutter emphasised the unpredictability of the cyclone’s path, claiming that it could track into an area stretching from the Kimberley to the south of Darwin.
Even if a cyclone doesn’t form, the monsoon is forecasted to bring strong winds and heavy rainfall, with a “monsoonal surge” expected in the Top End later this week and across the weekend.
“It may go south, it may go east, it may go west – at this stage, we are keeping a very close eye on it,” Ms Cutter said.
Ms Cutter warned of falls ranging between 50 to 100 millimetres, urging residents to be cautious as wet weather intensifies.
“You can see very large totals with these systems if they move onshore, even if they haven’t become a cyclone yet,” she said.
The current weather pattern marks the end of an unusually dry start to North Australia’s wet season, attributed to the influence of El Nino and another climate driver, the Indian Ocean Dipole.
The BOM closely monitors the situation, forecasting a 25 per cent chance of a cyclone forming in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf over the weekend.
In addition to the cyclone threat near Darwin, BOM is keeping a close eye on another system in the Gulf of Carpentaria, named 05U, which is associated with the monsoon.
While it has a low chance of forming into a cyclone from Friday, authorities are concerned it could bring further rain to areas of Far North Queensland recently impacted by Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
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