Is it unusual for two cyclones to appear in Australian waters at once? Not by a long shot, a cyclone expert says.
With severe tropical cyclone Lam and cyclone Marcia approaching northern Australia, Bureau of Meteorology spokesman Alan Sharp has scotched the suggestion it's unusual for two or more cyclones to approach Australia at the same time.
"It's not that uncommon, actually," Mr Sharp told AAP on Thursday.
"You often find they will come in bunches - one, two or three over a period and then you will have a quiet period and then a busy period again.
"I have seen, on one occasion back in the `80s, five cyclones across the Indian Ocean between Australia and Africa."
Tropical low pressure systems can form along the monsoon trough, which is currently active in northern Australia, bringing moisture and heavy rain.
In the right conditions, including a sea-surface temperature of at least 26.5C, these lows can form tropical cyclones, Mr Sharp said, drawing moisture and energy from the warm sea beneath them.
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