Destructive wind gusts are hammering remote communities in the Top End as tropical cyclone Fina strengthens while sweeping back over water and threatening Darwin.

Fina passed over the Cobourg Peninsula overnight and into the Van Diemen Gulf on Saturday, moving slowly towards the Northern Territory capital.

In an update on Saturday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology said the system had been upgraded to category three.

It said very destructive wind gusts to 185 km/h were likely along the southeastern coast of the Tiwi Islands on Saturday morning.

Destructive wind gusts to 140km/h may extend to Darwin later in the day.

Early on Saturday, a cyclone warning zone was in place for Darwin, the Cobourg Peninsula, the Tiwis, the Daly River Mouth to Warruwi and inland to Batchelor.

At around 7.

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