The prospect of a rare November cyclone forming off the Northern Territory coast near Darwin this week is now high, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says.<\/p>\n
Chances of a cyclone forming are predicted to increase from low to moderate on Tuesday, with the BOM forecasting a high chance between Wednesday and Monday.<\/p>\n
The BOM’s manager of hazard preparedness and response, Shenagh Gamble, said a tropical low was currently located “a couple of hundred kilometres west of the Tiwi Islands”.<\/p>\n
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Shenagh Gamble says there is a high chance of a cyclone forming from Wednesday. (ABC News: Marcus Kennedy)<\/p>\n
She said the system was expected to move away from the Top End over the coming days, before turning back towards it.<\/p>\n
“As the system develops into a tropical cyclone, we do expect it to turn away from the Northern Territory somewhat, head north, before curving back around,” Ms Gamble said.<\/p>\n
“If you look at the tropical cyclone seven-day forecast, you can see that area of risk does include Darwin.<\/p>\n
“For now, it is true that Darwin and really a lot of the north-west and north coastline of the Northern Territory is within the area of potential impact.”<\/p>\n
Ms Gamble said it was so far unclear how strong the potential cyclone could be.<\/p>\n
She said a track map would be released if the BOM issued a cyclone watch.<\/p>\n
“At this stage, with the system potentially developing on Wednesday, we could expect a track to be issued as early as Tuesday,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Gamble said regardless of whether a cyclone formed, Top End residents could expect “some strong winds and heavy rainfall”.<\/p>\n
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The last cyclone to impact Darwin was Cyclone Marcus, which struck as a category two system in 2018. (ABC News: Neda Vanovac)<\/p>\n
If the system develops into a cyclone, its name would begin with the letter ‘f’, Ms Gamble said.<\/p>\n
She also said if it formed before Saturday, the cyclone would be Australia’s earliest on record.<\/p>\n
It’s cyclone season. Here’s how to get prepared<\/a><\/p>\n How exactly do you prepare for the wild weather ahead? What goes in a cyclone kit? And what steps do you need to take to secure your house?\u00a0We answer your questions.<\/p>\n Darwin has not experienced a cyclone since Cyclone Marcus crossed as a category two system in March 2018.<\/p>\n It left almost 29,000 properties without power, with some residents forced to wait more than a week before it was restored.<\/p>\n Soon after coming to government last year, the CLP government scrapped Darwin’s underground power rollout<\/a>.<\/p>\n The strongest cyclone to ever hit Darwin was Cyclone Tracy in December 1974, which devastated the city<\/a> and killed 66 people.<\/p>\n Darwin residents urged to prepare<\/p>\n NT Emergency Service deputy chief officer Adam White said Top End residents should start preparing for a potential cyclone.<\/p>\n