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Tropical Cyclone Megan is affecting the Northern Territory coast as a category three system with concerns it could intensify, bringing 200km/h winds and intense rainfall.
The weather system intensified to a category three on Sunday, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning there was a 20 per cent chance it could develop into a category four by Monday evening.
“Severe Tropical Cyclone Megan is beginning to impact the southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria coast,” the Bureau of Meteorology said at 8pm (ACST) Sunday.
Cyclone Megan will bring 200km/h winds in its destructive core. Image WeatherZone
Forecasters say there is a moderate chance Megan could develop into a Category Four system.
The cyclone is expected to hit the NT coast on Monday evening with a warning area stretching hundreds of kilometers – from Alyangula on Groote Eylandt in the NT to the Queensland border and inland to Borroloola, McArthur River Mine and Robinson River.
“There is a moderate chance that this system could develop into a category four tropical cyclone,” the bureau’s Shenagh Gamble said on Sunday.
The core of the cyclone has been called destructive, bringing wind gusts of up to 220km/h and rainfall amounts of between 300mm and 400mm.
Meanwhile, possible rainfall amounts of between 150mm and 200mm and wind gusts of up to 110km/h have been forecast across the wider warning zone, which includes dozens of towns.
Flood watches are in place for Carpentaria to Arnhem and Barkly.
Tropical Cyclone Megan is now a category three system as it moves towards the Northern Territory coast, with the possibility that it could intensify to a category four.
The agency said flood warnings could widen as the cyclone hits the coast.
It may already be too late for some residents to leave when the cyclone approaches.
“When the tropical cyclone arrives, we need you to take shelter inside,” Police Superintendent Sonia Kennon said Sunday.
‘Stay indoors until everything is cleared by the authorities.’
The weather system is expected to return to a tropical low as it moves further inland on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We expect it to maintain tropical cyclone intensity all the way through to Borroloola and even to McArthur River Mine,” Gamble said.
Megan formed a month after Category 1 ex-tropical cyclone Lincoln crossed the territory’s coast in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall.