A cyclone is hitting the Top End, warning Territorians to prepare for destructive winds, heavy rain and possible flooding over the next 48 hours.
Tropical Cyclone Megan formed over the Gulf of Carpentaria east of Groote Eylandt on Saturday afternoon and was expected to move south-east, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
It has officially become the fifth weather system to hit Australian waters this season, after successive cyclones devastated the northern coasts of Queensland and NT.
Wind gusts of up to 120 km/h were recorded in the middle of the Category 1 system on Saturday.
The agency expected the cyclone to strengthen into a category two system overnight and to a category three system on Sunday evening.
Tropical Cyclone Megan was officially declared on Saturday evening (in photo the system is expected to make landfall on Monday)
The system will fall into category three when it hits land and triggers severe weather warnings
The Alyangula community on Groote Eylandt and people across the Queensland border, including in the town of Borroloola but not in Ngukkur, have been urged to prepare their properties and implement household plans.
Sustained winds above 75mph could increase on Sunday, amplifying the impact of heavy rainfall already expected in the Top End this weekend.
The heaviest falls are expected at coastal and island locations on Saturday, before reaching further inland the Carpentaria district on Sunday.
“While it (the cyclone) is likely to cross the coast on Monday, it will be moving slowly, making both the timing of landfall and its intensity quite uncertain at that time,” the agency said.
Widespread heavy rainfall, strong winds and flash flooding pose a risk to communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria
Heavy rain has already closed some roads in the region on Saturday afternoon
A satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Megan on Saturday. It is expected to strengthen over the next 48 hours
Weather conditions will then weaken as they make landfall and are likely to move westwards through the NT as a tropical low, bringing heavy winds and rain.
A severe weather warning has also been issued for heavy rainfall in parts of the Arnhem district, north of the cyclone watch zone.
It is the second tropical cyclone to hit the region in as many months.
Last month, Category 1 ex-tropical Cyclone Lincoln crossed the coast of the area in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, causing strong winds and heavy rainfall.
It triggered flood warnings and warnings in north-west Queensland, the NT and northern WA before moving offshore.