Anyone living in Darwin and other areas of the western Top End or far northern Kimberley should closely monitor weather warnings and tropical cyclone advisories over the Christmas weekend.

A tropical low that formed over the Arafura Sea on Friday is gaining strength as it moves towards the south and may develop into a tropical cyclone this weekend. Below is a video showing what the low looked like on Friday from space.

This developing low pressure system is part of a monsoon trough that will cause widespread rain and thunderstorms over the Top End from this weekend, signalling the monsoon onset in the region.

As of Friday afternoon, the low was expected to briefly become a category one tropical cyclone as it passed to the west of Darwin late on Christmas night or on Boxing Day morning. While it wasn’t likely to directly hit Darwin at that stage, it could pass close enough to cause heavy rain and damaging winds in the city, most likely on Sunday.

With the details of this developing system likely to shift around during the next 48 hours, it’s important to keep up-to-date with the latest tropical cyclone watches and warnings. Tropical cyclone details will be updated regularly by the Bureau of Meteorology at this page, until the system no longer poses a threat.