Tropical Cyclone Fina forms off Australia's north coast

Alsharq Tribune-AFP 

A tropical cyclone has formed off the coast of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) and could potentially impact the NT coast by Friday or Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said.

The BoM said that Tropical Cyclone Fina formed in the early hours of Wednesday morning as a Category 1 storm north of the NT capital of Darwin in the Arafura Sea, with wind gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour recorded.

As of 3:30 a.m. local time, the BoM said that the cyclone was located 315 kilometers north-northeast of Darwin and moving slowly further out to sea, but is expected to intensify in strength to Category 2 later on Wednesday before moving towards the NT coast.

"Later on Thursday, it should turn to the south then southwest, taking it towards the Northern Territory coast for a potential impact during Friday and Saturday," it said.

Residents of communities in the northern NT have been advised to monitor forecasts and follow the directions of emergency services.