Staff at a luxury resort owned by Andrew Forrest off the Far North Queensland coast have been evacuated and schools have closed as the region prepares for a category 5 cyclone to hit on Friday. Tropical Cyclone Narelle was upgraded to a category 5 system on Thursday morning and residents between Lockhart River and Cape Melville have been told to prepare for widespread destruction from Friday morning.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle is affecting North Queensland today, and then this weekend the focus will shift to the Northern Territory. I'm Angus

According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest forecast maps, Tropical Low 34U, currently tracking south of the Solomon Islands, now has a 60 per cent chance of reaching cyclone strength by Thursday night.

Narelle is due to be the biggest cyclone to hit Far North Queensland since category 4 system Cyclone Debbie causing billions of dollars of damage in the Whitsundays in 2017 ( SMH ). Wind speed will determine whether Narelle is classified as a category 4 cyclone, which is defined by a maximum speed between 160 and 199km/h ( The Guardian ).

Tropical Cyclone Narelle has officially formed in the Coral Sea, with the weather system expected to bring severe impacts to the state’s far north.

A category four tropical cyclone with destructive wind gusts in excess of 250km/h has made landfall in Far North Queensland.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall in Far North Queensland on Friday, March 20, before tracking westward toward the eastern Northern Territory over the weekend.