Tropical Cyclone Fina has officially formed north of Darwin and is expected to make landfall as early as Friday.

The Bureau of Meteorology upgraded the low pressure system into tropical cyclone status overnight as wind gusts reached 100km/h, catapulting it into a CAT 1 system.

Fina is expected to continue moving to the east northeast and intensify to CAT 2 by Wednesday night before making a U-turn and swinging southwest towards the Northern Territory coast for a potential impact as early as Friday.

Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the storm is currently about 300km north of Darwin and travelling at a slow 9km/h.

“We may see a coastal crossing sometime over the weekend or into early next week,” she said.

“However, there are a range of forecast scenarios for where the sys

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