Update 97S/02U

A tropical low north-northwest of Darwin is getting better organised and now has a high chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next day or so. It’s currently near 10.7°S 129.7°E, roughly 240 km north-northwest of Darwin, and drifting slowly to the east-north-east.

Winds near the centre are estimated around 50–60 km/h, with heavier showers and storms building over the middle of the system. Sea surface temperatures are very warm (around 30–31 °C) and winds higher up in the atmosphere are light, which are both favourable for further strengthening.

Computer models generally agree that the system will keep slowly developing over the next 24 hours. Central pressure is estimated to be around 1003 hPa. The potential for this system to become a tropical cyclone in the next 24 hours is now rated as high.

At the moment, the Bureau of Meteorology refers to this system as Tropical Low 02U. That’s the label they use for tropical lows in our region before they’re strong enough to be given a cyclone name. Internationally, especially in some overseas forecast products, you’ll see it called Invest 97S. That’s just a tracking code used by another agency to mark an area they’re investigating for possible cyclone development. Both codes are talking about the same weather system — they just come from different naming systems.