Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory brace for FIVE cyclones in ‘very unusual’ phenomenon

Australians have been warned to brace for as many as five tropical cyclones hitting the northern part of the country this weekend.

The Bureau of Meteorology said there was a ‘very unusual’ amount of cyclone activity in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Meteorologist Angus Hines said while it was unlikely all five weather events would develop into cyclones, there was ‘a chance’ it could happen.

‘It is certainly unusual to see development in all these areas. Five at the same time is unusual,’ Mr Hines said.

‘It is hard to say which would be the most likely, but if they form off the Queensland coast there is the potential for heavy rainfall, damaging winds and coastal inundation (of water).’

There are two lows forming over Queensland, one in The Gulf of Carpentaria above the Northern Territory, and two west of WA’s coastline.

Weatherzone meteorologist Maryam Al-Ansari told Daily Mail Australia conditions are perfect for a tropical cyclone to develop.

‘We’ve got all the ingredients we need for a cyclone to form,’ she said.

Ms Al-Ansair said figuring out which one would develop wasn’t easy because essentially when one starts forming it will pull away moisture and the potential for any of the other ones to form.

‘The modelling is saying the one in The Gulf of Carpentaria could develop first and if that happens it will be short-lived because cyclones in the gulf don’t have much room to move around,’ she said.

‘If it doesn’t form it provides the low pressures in the Coral Sea with a great opportunity to form into cyclones early next week.’

The Bureau of Meteorology expects the low pressures above Queensland to be the ones most likely to form into a cyclone.

‘It is hard to say which would be the most likely, but if they form off the Queensland coast there is the potential for heavy rainfall, damaging winds and coastal inundation (of water),’ Mr Hines said.

‘The two developing off the north coast of WA, they aren’t very close to the coast, and they are moving west, which could take them further away from Australia.’

Even if the lows don’t form, there will still be wet conditions for parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia over the weekend and into next week.

‘There is a warning for north east Queensland. We are looking at 200-300mm of rain over that day-and-a-half, meaning the ground will be very saturated,’ Mr Hines said.

‘That means if we see more rain from a cyclone later in the week the water won’t soak in, and there will be a quick response from rivers and dams, with the high chance of flash flooding.’

The 2024–25 Australian tropical cyclone season is expected to be in line with the long-term average, in which 11 tropical cyclones form in the Australian region, four of which cross the Australian coast.