Warning to Aussies as Tropical Cyclone Fina forms off coast of Northern Territory
The tropical low that appeared off the coast of Australia turned into Tropical Cyclone Fina, and warnings were made that it could turn into a category two system within a few hours.
Driven by warm ocean temperatures over the Timor Sea, Tropical Cyclone Fina prepared to develop and began to take shape overnight.
Shortly after 3am on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology officially classified the tropical low as a category one tropical cyclone.
The bureau, which is now 315km north-northeast of Darwin and 195km north-northwest of Minjilang, warned that the system could strengthen into a category two hurricane as early as Wednesday night.
It is currently moving at 9 kilometers per hour, with winds reaching 100 kilometers per hour near the center of the hurricane.
Senior meteorologist Jonathan How said extreme conditions would continue in the coming days.
Tropical Cyclone Fina is expected to turn south and then southwest on Thursday, driving winds towards the Northern Territory coast, where it will make landfall by Friday or Saturday.
“There’s a pretty large body of cloud and thunderstorms right now, but over the last few days, we’ve started to see a circulation developing and showing signs of strengthening,” he told NewsWire.
It marks the beginning of the tropical cyclone season, which usually occurs between November and April.
Mr How told NewsWire that while the tropical cyclone season officially begins on November 1, the tropical low arrived “very early”.
The bureau generally does not foresee tropical cyclones developing until “late December.”
The last time a tropical cyclone formed this early was Hurricane Alessia, which made landfall in the Northern Territory on November 28, 2013.
It’s not yet known how extreme Tropical Cyclone Fina will be if it makes landfall, but the bureau warns of heavy rain, damaging winds and “major storm surge.”
Citizens were asked to follow the instructions of emergency services.
“Communities over the Northern Territory are not expected to be impacted by Tropical Cyclone Fina within the next 48 hours,” the bureau website states.
