Bureau of Meteorology forecast shows potential for multiple cyclones to develop off northern Queensland and northern WA

Multiple cyclones could potentially form in the northern parts of Australia towards the end of this week and into next, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.

The Bureau’s seven-day tropical cyclone forecast shows five lows (low-pressure areas) could develop near northern WA and northern Queensland starting from Thursday or Friday.

By Saturday, each of the systems has a low chance of becoming a tropical cyclone, senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury told 7NEWS.com.au.

Moving into Sunday and Monday next week, only three of the systems will increase to a moderate chance of developing into a cyclone.

Two of these are off northern Queensland in the Coral Sea while the other is near the Cocos Islands off the WA coast.

“(The WA low is) well offshore, unlikely to impact mainland Australia,” Bradbury said.

“At this stage, we’ve got no high chance of (it) becoming a tropical cyclone.

“It’s still about a week away that these systems really start to ramp up.”

These three lows have the greatest likelihood out of the five to develop into a tropical cyclone, however this is dependent on several factors, such as how warm the sea surface temperature is.

“There are obviously certain atmospheric parameters that help them or suppress them,” Bradbury said.

“It’s so dependent on all of these different factors, there are still a number of ways this could play out. So it’s really just keeping an eye on them.

“We have a dedicated cyclone team and that’s their whole job, to make sure that we’re as up-to-date as possible.”

The only two lows that could impact mainland Australia are the ones in the Coral Sea off northern Queensland.

The overall cyclone risk in Australia is expected to ramp up when monsoon season hits northern Australia sometime next week.

According to Bradbury the monsoon trough usually sits horizontally over the tropics near Indonesia but that usually between December to January, the trough directs moisture down to northern parts of Australia.

“It means there’ll be more shower activity, more rain, more thunderstorms,” she said.

Bradbury said it wasn’t uncommon to see multiple systems potentially develop at once, however she did say that five was “a lot”.

“I wouldn’t say it’s unheard of, but I guess the thing to remember is that just because there’s a potential for all five to develop doesn’t necessarily mean five will develop, and certainly not that all five would become cyclones.

“Five cyclones at once for the Australian region would be highly unusual.”

Those who live in the parts of northern Australia where the five lows are developing have been urged to keep an eye on the tropical cyclone forecast throughout the week.