Cyclone Tim takes over in Queensland as Sandra moves on to batter Lord Howe QUEENSLAND'S third cyclone of the season is tipped to form late this morning 450km northeast of Cairns and become a Category 1 or 2. Meanwhile, its predecessor Cyclone Sandra has turned spiteful, increasing in power and bearing down on Lord Howe Island, 600km off the coast of central NSW. Lord Howe is in for a battering, with wind gusts up to 150km/h as Sandra winds up briefly to Category 2 as it meets another weather system near the island tomorrow. Sandra is expected to pass slightly east or even hit Lord Howe and beef up for less than 12 hours before gradually weakening into a low. The north Queensland storm to be called Tim was travelling at 22km/h yesterday and is forecast to continue moving east-southeast at least into the weekend. Initially following roughly the same track as Sandra, it will likely mean yet another mauling for southeast Queensland beaches, which have been smashed by a succession of big seas since January. Weather Bureau severe weather forecaster Tony Auden said the storm was being driven away from the coast by a strong monsoon flow. It'll head that way for a few days but there is some potential for intensification. After that, it's too far off to call," he said. The good thing is that the environment doesn't appear too favourable for it to become a really intense system. The storm's formation is expected to be hit by unfavourable winds and dry air being pushed north by the influence of Cyclone Sandra, which was travelling at 15km/h. Mr Auden said it was not unusual for cyclones to ease or re-gather strength as with Sandra, nor travel so far south. At least every other year cyclones travelled as far south as NSW, though they usually moved east or south of Fiji. "People have to remember that southeast Queensland has had a quiet run in terms of cyclones but they have come this far plenty of times before," he said. This one could go very close to Lord Howe and we've put a warning out for them.