Two new cyclones formed over the weekend in the tropics north of New Zealand as the 2011 cyclone season gets fully underway.

To the north east of Australia category one cyclone “Anthony” has formed.  The cyclone will be of huge concern for Queenslanders despite the initial tracking showing the tropical storm moving away from the coastline and heading out into the Coral Sea.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says that once Anthony moves into the central Coral Sea it could well deepen further with future computer models showing the cyclone doing a u-turn on Wednesday and taking aim on the Queensland coast as a stronger system by the end of the week.

And to the north east of New Zealand tropical cyclone Wilma has formed near Samoa and will today cross American Samoa as a category 1 or 2 cyclone.

The long range maps have been picking for several days now that a cyclone would form north east of New Zealand and then track south west towards the upper North Island by Friday or Saturday.

Weather data used by WeatherWatch.co.nz currently predicts a 60% chance of rain for Auckland this Saturday, which is high considering how far out the system still is.

It’s still far too early to know if Wilma will bring severe weather to New Zealand but again those with interests in northern regions should monitor its progress, particularly in the wake of Sunday’s deluge.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz