TROPICAL Cyclone Penny has strengthened into a category two storm in the Coral Sea today, with the Bureau of Meteorology keeping a close eye on the weather system.
The BOM said TC Penny was not expected to impact the North Queensland coast within the next three days, but its future path and intensity remained unclear.
Bureau of Meteorology Weather Services Manager Richard Wardle, said the latest advice placed Cyclone Penny approximately 1000km northeast of Townsville at 5pm today and indicated delayed coastal impacts, which are unlikely to be seen before Tuesday of next week.
"There are still a range of scenarios possible regarding Cyclone Penny's future track and where it may cross the coast, or indeed if it will cross the coast,” Dr Wardle said.
"Some models keep the system well offshore after weakening to a low.
"We'll be watching the situation closely over the weekend.
"The most likely scenario is convective rainfall which is typical for this time of year, but only isolated moderate to heavy falls are expected.”
Penny is unlikely to be an intense system when it reaches the coast but there remains a risk that it will produce gales in coastal areas during next week.
Cyclone Penny first formed in the eastern Gulf of Carperntaria early on New Year’s Day and made landfall near Weipa that afternoon.
She was quickly downgraded to a tropical low however reformed into a category one storm after moving across the Cape York Peninsula and hovering in the Coral Sea.
This afternoon, Penny’s westward track had slowed significantly and it is likely she will turn around heading back toward the coast over the weekend.
She is the second Tropical Cyclone to hit the Far North this season, following Cyclone Owen that made landfall near Kowanyama on December 15.
Owen dumped 681mm of rain on the hamlet of Halifax, near Ingham in just 24 hours after he was downgraded to a low, making it the highest rainfall reading ever recorded on a December day anywhere in Australia.
