Late-season weather chaos possible as two tropical cyclones develop off coast

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Two potential tropical cyclones are hovering off the coast of northern Australia as the country braces for more late-season cyclone weather.

There is a high risk of one of the tropical lows forming in the Arafura Sea developing into a tropical cyclone, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.

The system is forecast to move south-west into the Timor Sea on the weekend and is expected to shift to waters north of Darwin and then north of the Kimberley.

Tropical cyclone brewing — The state of play. (Windy.com)

By Tuesday evening, the chance of a tropical cyclone forming off the Western Australia coast is high at around 60 per cent.

The system is forecast to bring heavy rain and thunderstorms to the far north of Australia, including 100-200mm of rainfall across the Top End and Cape York Peninsula.

A second tropical low is also forecast to form in the eastern Arafura Sea or Gulf of Carpentaria.

This weather system has a low chance of developing into a cyclone from Wednesday next week.

Two tropical cyclones brewing in northern Australia — The two tropical cyclones brewing in northern Australia. (Bureau of Meteorology)

If either is upgraded to a cyclone, it could make this the most active cyclone season Australia has seen in six years, Weatherzone reports.

There have been at least seven tropical cyclones forming across Australian regions since the season began in November 2024, including Cyclone Sean, Cyclone Zelia and Cyclone Alfred.