The warning zone for a cyclone expected to form above north-east Western Australia on Friday night remains in place for a large stretch of the Northern Territory and Western Australian coastline this evening, with communities south of Darwin also still on alert.
The warning zone stretches from Dundee Beach, 130 kilometres south of Darwin, to the Mitchell Plateau in WA, including Wadeye in the NT and Wyndham and Kalumburu in WA.
A watch zone remains in place from Point Stuart in the NT to Dundee Beach, including the Tiwi Islands and Darwin, and from the Mitchell Plateau to Cockatoo Island in WA.
Forecasters say the tropical low currently west of Darwin in the Timor Sea is expected to develop into a cyclone on Friday night or early on Saturday morning.
A Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) update early on Friday afternoon said the system could move over the weekend either south-east or south-west from its current position.
Later the bureau said it was becoming more likely the storm would move slowly south-west during the weekend, with the chance it could move faster and cross the north Kimberley coast as early as Saturday morning.
There is a chance of the storm reaching category two strength before making landfall.
"The models that we use to inform our forecast tracks are still very divergent about where the possible track can go," BOM NT manager Shenagh Gamble said.
"It can very much change direction day to day and even from hour to hour."
Warning for NT Aboriginal community of Wadeye, other coastal areas
Forecasters said gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour were expected for communities in the warning zone from Friday night, especially around Kalumburu in WA.
At lunchtime on Friday NT emergency services regional manager Mark Cunnington said there were no planned evacuations for any communities in the NT at this stage.
"Those residents within the now-warning area, in particular around the Wadeye area, should finalise their preparations and be prepared to take shelter should the weather start to deteriorate in their region," he said.
"All other areas, just monitor the situation."
Heavy rainfall was expected for the Tiwi Islands and western Top End throughout the afternoon on Friday and into Saturday, and in the Kimberley region from Saturday into early next week.
The chief executive of Wadeye's Thamarrurr Development Corporation, Scott McIntyre, said the community was well-stocked with supplies and prepared for more wet weather on Friday afternoon.
"[The weather is] not too bad to be honest, it's kind of the calm before the storm, literally," he said.
"Hopefully it doesn't hit directly, it's looking promising for us in that regard."
He said the local council was preparing to stand up an emergency response committee over the weekend if necessary.
"[The] community organisations [are] being resilient and being ready for anything really," he said.
The bureau said 200 millimetres of rain could fall in parts of the north west Top End, and higher totals also possible.
A flood watch is in place current for the north west coast and inland river systems.
