Cyclone Marcia moving towards Qld coast

Tropical Cyclone Marcia is set to hit the Queensland coast and is likely to develop into a Category 2 system, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

The tropical low lies over the central Coral Sea, and is slowly strengthening.

The BOM says Marcia is expected to slowly intensify, with a high chance of it reaching Category 2 intensity by the time it reaches land.

Gales are expected to develop between Sarina and Double Island Point by Thursday evening and turn into destructive wind gusts of up to 150 km/h on the coast and islands near the centre on Friday morning.

Heavy rainfall is also expected in coastal and island communities between Sarina and Double Island Point during Thursday, particularly over areas to the south of the system.

Flood warnings are in place for the area.

The news comes as communities in the Northern Territory are battening down as Tropical Cyclone Lam intensifies and tracks towards the Top End's northeast.

That storm is expected to reach a category four by Thursday morning and make landfall between Elcho Island and Nhulunbuy by evening.

If it does, it'll become the first cyclone to cross the Australian coastline this season, marking an unusually late start.

Bureau of Meteorology records show that in the last 50 years only two other cyclone seasons have got underway later than they have this year.