Tropical Cyclone Jasper is expected to pick up steam today, increasing to a category 2 storm before crossing the far north Queensland coast on Wednesday.
At 4am on Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said the storm was situated about 305km east of Cairns and 345km north east of Townsville, travelling on a west north west track at about 7.4km/hour.
According to BOM, Jasper will continue to head west across Cape York with a moderate chance the storm could redevelop in the Gulf of Carpentaria during Friday or over the weekend.
That would put the top section of the Northern Territory, including potentially Darwin, in Jasper's path.
BOM says the main area of impact will be along a 600km stretch between Cape Flattery and Cardwell.
Weather website zoom.earth shows a crossing point north of Port Douglas within the so-called 'cone of uncertainty'.
Atherton-based Tablelands Regional Council has warned residents very strong winds will knock down trees, powerlines, blow roofs of some houses, and blow away loose items.
"Power, phones, internet and water might stop working, heavy rain may cause flooding in some places and roads could be blocked by fallen trees, powerlines and floodwater," TRC warns.
Substantial amounts of thick cloud and strong winds are already evident over central and north eastern regions of Queensland.
A weak high will extend a ridge over north Queensland waters in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
BOM says a broad cloud band lies to the south and west of a surface trough that extends
over the Top End, through the Northern Territory, to a low over the NSW, Victoria and South Australia border.
Mapping shows a low pressure system in the Bight producing thick areas of cloud over much of southern Australia and Tasmania. The rest of Australia is mostly cloud free.
