The Tiwi Islands, to the north of Darwin, are on Cyclone Watch as a tropical low continues to pass to the north of the Top End. At 9:30am CST, the tropical low was situated approximately 290km northeast of Darwin and was moving WSW at 7km/h parallel to the coast. The low is expected to develop into a cyclone during Saturday as it moves out into the open waters of the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf. It will then continue to slowly intensify over the weekend, while remaining well north of the Kimberley coast. Computer model indications have the cyclone remaining well offshore early next week. However, beyond that, there is a possibility of a coastal crossing somewhere along the northern WA coast. One of the side effects of the tropical low is copious quantities of moisture which are being fed into the jet stream and carried southeastward across the continent in the form of a cloud band. This cloud band brought welcome rainfall to the Alice Springs district late on Thursday. The town picked up 11mm, its wettest day since late May. Alice Springs reached a maximum of only 19 degrees during Friday under thick cloud cover.