Two tropical weather systems are seen off northwestern Australia in this Mar. 13, 2012, image. Tropical Cyclone Lua is to the left. (Australia BoM image) Mar 13, 2012; 10:41 AM ET
A pair of tropical weather systems lurking off Australia's north will pose a threat of adverse weather for a wide area of the country during the week.
An official Tropical Cyclone Warning has already been posted for a stretch of northern Australia, including the city of Darwin.
One of the two systems, a tropical low west of Darwin as of late Tuesday, local time, will make landfall from the Timor Sea as early as Wednesday, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
Already, localized torrential rain has pelted the coastal areas of Northern Territory and Western Australia, and the BoM warning calls for additional heavy rain, stream rises and possible flooding.
The BoM forecast the low to become at least a minimal tropical storm before landfall off the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf southwest of Darwin.
Farther west, Tropical Cyclone Lua was spinning off the far-northwest of Australia. Lua was drifting erratically and was not an immediate threat to land.
The BoM have forecast Lua to hover over open waters northwest of Port Hedland through at least Thursday, while strengthening significantly.
Likewise, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center have anticipated that Lua will hold at sea with slow, erratic movement through Wednesday, local time, before making a run at the coast near Port Hedland.
The likely path of Lua at sea could pass near some important oil and gas infrastructure.
Torrential rain and potentially damaging wind could spread ashore along with Lua during the latter half of the week.
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