Cyclone Lucas warning: Tourists urged to leave north-west and residents to prepare for category two system

Residents in Western Australia’s north-west have been urged to prepare for heavy rain and destructive winds from Friday, as the state’s first cyclone of the season approaches.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is predicting a tropical low, currently tracking parallel to the Kimberley coast, will intensify into a cyclone late Thursday or early Friday before heading for the east Pilbara coast.

“There is more than normal uncertainty around this system but we are forecasting it to move southwards from Friday and it has the potential to intensify as it approaches…