14 Mar 2013

Cyclone Tim unlikely to cross Coral Sea

4:18 pm on 14 March 2013

The Brisbane Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre has just named a new system Tim, in the northwest Coral Sea.

Forecaster Tony Auden says the low weather system was classified as a category one cyclone this morning and is currently 440 kilometres northeast of Cairns.

He says Cyclone Tim is moving southeast at 26 kilometres per hour and is forecast to keep moving in that direction for the next two or three days.

He says it is likely to weaken over the weekend as it heads back towards the Queensland coast.

Mr Auden says the cyclone may develop into a category two system in the next 12 hours but it is not expected to impact much on nearby Pacific Islands.

"At the moment it looks unlikely that we should see any significant cyclone impacts anywhere else around the southern Pacific Ocean. So places like Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Solomon Islands are unlikely to see any significant impact from Tim, apart from maybe some westerly swells."

Forecaster, Tony Auden.