Tropical cyclone set to form off Queensland within 24hrs

A SIGNIFICANT tropical cyclone is expected to form off the coast of Queensland within the next 24 hours.

A satellite image showing the location of the tropical low forming off the coast of the Solomon Islands that is expected to track towards the Queensland coast.

A SIGNIFICANT tropical cyclone is expected to form off the coast of Queensland within the next 24 hours.

According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), based in Pearl Harbor, there is now a high chance a tropical cyclone will develop on Sunday between the Australian coast and the Solomon Islands.

The JTWC said today the 'low level circulation centre' was moving in a south-westerly direction at 13 knots.

The cyclone was located approximately 333 nautical miles west of Honiara on the Solomon Islands, over 1000 kilometres off the coast of Cairns.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, based in Pearl Harbor, has put out a notice advising there is a high chance of a tropical cyclone developing off the coast of Queensland in the next 24 hours.

At 2.30pm the BOM said a developing tropical low was currently located southeast of the Papua New Guinea mainland, near Sudest Island.

"The low is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone during Sunday afternoon or evening while shifting south to southwest. It is expected to enter the Eastern Region later this evening or early Sunday morning and stay well offshore of the Queensland coast in the northern Coral Sea,” the outlook report read.

"Uncertainty does exist with the systems movement and development from Tuesday.”

Janine Yuafa, meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, confirmed they were closely monitoring the situation, however he said it should remain well off the coast of Queensland for the time being.

The tropical low was detected over 300 nautical miles from Honiara on the Solomon Island. It is predicted to turn into a tropical cyclone in the coming days.

"At the moment it is southeast of Papua New Guinea,” she said.

"It is expected to move south-westwards into the Coral Sea over the next few days.”

Ms Yuafa said the tropical low was expected to remain well off the Queensland coast until early next week, saying after that it was not clear where it would go.

"There's a great deal of uncertainty surrounding its movements over coming days, beyond Sunday and Monday,” she said.

"At this stage there's a moderate to high chance of development, but what it does after that once it reached tropical cyclone strength, if it does, is extremely uncertain.”