Saturday AM update — It’s a more serious forecast for Darwin today with Cyclone Fina upgraded to a Severe Category 3 Tropical Cyclone this morning by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. It continues to track directly towards Darwin and lies over very warm seas that will continue to fuel it and potentially power it up even further.

In today’s special video we cover the latest tracking, which shows the severe cyclone passing near, or even over, Darwin late today/tonight.

Rain and wind will build today in Darwin and surrounding towns and communities in the north-west of the Top End.

We expect the worst of the winds to peak tonight, then easing back on Sunday AM in Darwin, likely before sunrise.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms, possibly severe, are also in the mix and could boost rainfall to over 300mm in just 24 hours in some locations.

We will have extra updates later today on our social media account: https://x.com/WeatherWatchNZ

Those in the Top End should keep up to date with all official warnings from local NT authorities and the Bureau of Meteorology.