Tropical cyclone bears down on Queensland

A cyclone developing thousands of kilometres off the coast of Queensland’s far north could lash the peninsula by the weekend, forecasters warn.

Cyclones are unusual in November during an El Nino period, but the system building near the Solomon Islands could spell devastating consequences for the near 300,000-strong population of the Sunshine State’s northern section.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a moderate tropical cyclone warning for the Coral Sea on Sunday.

A cyclone developing thousands of kilometres off the coast of Queensland’s far north could lash the peninsula by the weekend, forecasters warn (pictured simulation from Windy)

Duty forecaster Janine Yuasa told Daily Mail Australia the system would continue to move south-westerly over the next few days. 

She said there were ‘a number of options’ as to where the cyclone could end up after Sunday.

Windy.com predicts the system will pass across the tip of the Cape York Peninsula overnight on Wednesday.

The cyclone would become the first of the 2018-19 season in Australia were it to cross the coast. 

The system echoes the movement of Cyclone Yasi, which struck far north Queensland in February 2011, and is one of the largest cyclones to hit Australia in recent years

The system echoes the movement of Cyclone Yasi, which struck far north Queensland in February 2011, and is one of the largest cyclones to hit Australia in recent years

The system echoes the movement of Cyclone Yasi, which struck far north Queensland in February 2011, and is one of the largest cyclones to hit Australia in recent years.

Meanwhile, subscription-based weather forecaster Higgins Storm Chasing also said the same system could hit the far north.

The alert, issued earlier this week, warned however the path of the cyclone was highly uncertain past Sunday – with the BOM only forecasting the storm until Monday.

If the storm were to hit Queensland, it could add further misery to a population already reeling from devastating fires raging across the state. 

There was still an extremely large fire south of Agnes Water on the state’s central coast forcing evacuations of about 1000 people as of Thursday evening.

The early season storm is developing two months after an ‘exceptionally rare’ cyclone developed near Fiji.

It was the first cyclone to develop in the South Pacific in September in almost 70 years.

BOM forecaster Janine Yuasa told Daily Mail Australia the system would continue to move south-westerly over the next few days (pictured 2011 cyclone)

BOM forecaster Janine Yuasa told Daily Mail Australia the system would continue to move south-westerly over the next few days (pictured 2011 cyclone)

If the storm were to hit Queensland, it could add further misery to a population already reeling from devastating fires raging across the state

If the storm were to hit Queensland, it could add further misery to a population already reeling from devastating fires raging across the state

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk