Forecasters are keeping a close watch on a tropical low that could go down in history as Queensland's first ever July cyclone.
The Bureau of Meteorology say there's a 20 to 50 per cent chance that the low, currently 2200km northeast of Cairns, could intensify into a cyclone within the next three days.
If that happens it will be named Raquel and the system will write a new page in the state's weather history.
Most cyclones off Australia occur in summer months, when low pressure systems are fed by warmer ocean temperatures, however off-season cyclones are not unheard of.
Bureau forecaster Adam Woods says the last off Queensland was in the autumn of 1972, when Cyclone Ida formed in May. Western Australia also had a July cyclone back in 1996, when Lindsay appeared.
"There's never been a tropical cyclone in July in the Queensland region so it would be a first," Mr Woods told AAP on Tuesday.
"But if it does become a cyclone it will remain a long way off the Queensland coast and is not expected to pose any threat."
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