Cyclone watch for Northern Australia
Days after category 2 Cyclone Melanie skirted the northwest coast of Australia, a secondary cyclone may be developing.
Forecasters at the Australian Weather Bureau are watching a deep monsoon low that is currently sitting near the coast of the Northern Territory. It is expected to intensify and develop into a cyclone by this weekend. The low, which is located about 186 miles (300 km) southwest of Katherine, Northern Territory, showed signs of drifting into the Gulf of Carpentaria and then moving into Queensland, bringing high winds and heavy rain.
The monsoon low has already produced some very heavy and persistent rain across parts of the Northern Territory, with some areas having falls in excess of 200mm (8 inches) in recent days. The risk of flooding is high in parts of Katherine and with more widespread rain to come, severe flood warnings are now in place for parts of the Territory north of Brunette Downs.
Australia’s cyclone season gets underway in November and lasts through to April. With 2007 into 2008 being a La Nina year, it’s possible that the rest of the cyclone season could produce a higher than average number of storms.
