Cyclone Warning for North Queensland

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, pictured on the far upper right portion of the map, is heading toward northern Queensland. It was upgraded to a category 5 on Tuesday. Australia Bureau of Meteorology

An emergency alert has been issued for Palm Island amid warnings a cyclone is likely to form off the north Queensland coast, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and abnormally high tides.

A tropical cyclone watch is in place between Cape Flattery and Lucinda extending to Mareeba and Atherton.