Rain possible this week with cyclone expected to form

Tropical Cyclone Owen has officially formed north of the Coral Sea, with rain possible for Townsville this week.

A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to develop into a cyclone over the coming hours. PICTURE: SCREENSHOT / WINDY.COM

UDPATE 6PM: TROPICAL Cyclone Owen has officially formed in the Coral Sea.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the Category 1 cyclone has formed 990km northeast of Cairns.

It is expected to drift slowly south and west, likely strengthening into a Category 2 cyclone on Monday, before weakening mid-week.

It poses no threat to the Queensland coast.

EARLIER:

TROPICAL Cyclone Owen is expected to form in the next 24 hours in the north of the Coral Sea.

The weather system is unlikely to impact Townsville but some unrelated rain should fall across the city later in the week.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Harry Clark said if Cyclone Owen formed it would move slowly and remain well off the Queensland coast until at least midweek.

“(As of Sunday afternoon) the system is north of Cooktown,” Mr Clark said.

“It will remain reasonably slow moving and out to sea until at least Tuesday or Wednesday.

“It is difficult to predict what will happen with (the system) beyond that but we will be keeping people updated as we know more.”

Will #CycloneOwen form today? This tropical low has a high (>50%) chance of developing. https://t.co/rVLE6i5J4y pic.twitter.com/lRrcNMhVrh

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 1, 2018

The Bulletin understands the cyclone is expected to peak as a category two tropical cyclone and the State Government’s disaster management team is monitoring the situation but at this stage expects there to be no threat to the coast.

Despite the unlikelihood of Townsville being impacted by the cyclone some rainfall is predicted for later in the week.

“There’s a medium to high chance of showers from Wednesday through to the end of the week,” Mr Clark said.

“The reason for the rainfall is more to do with the increasing flow of wind coming off the ocean rather than directly from the cyclone itself.

“Some localised places may receive heavy downpours and thunderstorm activity but we are not looking at wide spread heavy rain.”

A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to develop into a cyclone over the coming hours. PICTURE: SUPPLIED/BOM

Mr Clark said temperatures would remain in the mid-30s until the rain hits with humid conditions expected to keep overnight minimums fairly high.

The rains should provide some relief for local firefighters who have been working hard to keep bushfires at bay,

A Queensland Fire Emergency Services spokeswoman said rural firefighters were monitoring fires at Paluma, Mutarnee, Hervey Range and Pinnacles on Sunday.

Crews were also containing a larger blaze at Mount Fox, North of Ingham.

“There is still a high fire danger and we will be monitoring weather conditions on a regular basis,” the spokeswoman said.

“We have a firebird monitoring and mapping all the fires in the region to help our crews on the ground.”

Originally published as Rain possible this week with cyclone expected to form