The low is currently situated approximately 800 kilometres east of Cairns and is moving towards the west-northwest.

"This tropical low developed along the monsoon trough a few days ago and has been in a relatively unfavourable environment for further development since then," weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Matt Pearce said.

"However, over the weekend, we will see the upper level winds in the vicinity of the low decrease in strength. This will allow the low to deepen and it should reach tropical cyclone intensity either tomorrow or Sunday."

The low is likely to become relatively slow-moving over the weekend, so will not impact directly on the Queensland coast.

Looking further ahead, there is uncertainty about the system’s future movement.

"Most of our computer models suggest that the low or cyclone will track to the southeast away from the coast next week. However, there remains a small chance that it will head west towards the north Queensland coast. For this reason, residents of tropical Queensland should keep an eye on official warnings across the weekend," Pearce said.

"Although it may seem late in the season, tropical cyclones are actually still quite common in March and even into April. The oceans are at their warmest during the end of summer and beginning of autumn, so this gives tropical cyclones all the fuel they need to develop."