Just the latest from BoM with TC Fina.



Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina, Category 3, to pass just north of Darwin later today. Darwin to experience rapid increase in winds later this afternoon and evening.

Area affected
Warning zone
Daly River Mouth to Cape Don, including Tiwi Islands, Dundee Beach, Darwin, Milikapiti, Pirlangimpi and Wurrumiyanga.

Watch zone
Troughton Island to Wadeye.

Cancelled zone
None.

At 9:30 am Australian Central Standard Time
At 9:30 am ACST

Intensity
category 3, sustained winds near the centre of 120 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 165 kilometres per hour

Location
within 20 kilometres of 11.8 degrees South, 131.4 degrees East, 90 kilometres northeast of Darwin and 85 kilometres east of Wurrumiyanga

Movement
west southwest at 9 kilometres per hour

Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina is moving west southwest across the Van Diemen Gulf and is expected to pass north of Darwin later today. After passing Darwin, Fina is forecast to maintain severe tropical cyclone intensity on Sunday or early Monday as it moves through the southern Timor Sea, and then start weakening during Monday or Tuesday near the Kimberley coast.

Hazards

VERY DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS to 185 km/h are likely along the southeastern coast of Tiwi Islands this morning, moving west during the day, with a chance of reaching Wurrumiyanga later today. Very destructive wind gusts are likely about exposed coastal sites northeast of Darwin today but the risk at Darwin Is assessed as low.

DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS to 155 km/h are occurring over southeastern parts of the Tiwi Islands, and likely to extend west to southern parts of the islands, including Wurrumiyanga during the day. Destructive gusts are expected to extend to the Darwin region later today.

GALES with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS to 120 km/h are occurring over the Cobourg Peninsula, eastern parts of Melville Island and Cape Hotham to Point Stuart. Gales are expected to extend further west to include Darwin this afternoon and across the remainder of the Tiwi Islands during the day. Gales may extend southwest to Daly River Mouth overnight, and if Fina takes a more southerly track, gales Could extend south to Wadeye on Sunday.

Later Sunday or on Monday, GALES may extend to coastal parts of the north Kimberley in WA, from Kalumburu to the WA/NT Border, but not including Wyndham or Kununurra.

HEAVY to LOCALLY INTENSE RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is possible along coastal areas between the Tiwi Islands and the Cobourg Peninsula, extending to coastal and adjacent inland areas across the western Top End including Darwin later today and on Sunday.

Coastal residents on the Tiwi Islands, and between Cape Hotham and Warruwi are specifically warned that tides are likely to rise above the normal high tide mark with LARGE WAVES and MINOR FLOODING of low-lying coastal areas.