High chance of cyclone off Qld coast PEOPLE in far north Queensland are being warned there is a high chance a cyclone will strike the coast on Wednesday. Forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, Lauren Murphy, says there is a greater than 50 per cent chance a tropical low pressure system located about 940km east-northeast of Cairns will develop into a cyclone. "We are rating it as a high chance of forming into a tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours," Ms Murphy said on Monday. It is going to continue in a westerly track towards the north Queensland coast. It is pretty likely we will be issuing a tropical cyclone watch for the north Queensland coast. People should be alert and start making preparations and checking cyclone plans. Ms Murphy said the cyclone was expected to cross the far Queensland coast as either a category one or category two system, between the Torres Strait and Cooktown on Wednesday, probably around Lockhart River. The tropical cyclone season typically lasts until the end of April, but since 1970 there have been six cyclones that formed in May in the Queensland area. None of those crossed the coast. If the latest low pressure system does become a cyclone it will be known as Tropical Cyclone Zane.