Tropical Cyclone Narelle live updates: Far North Queensland braces for category five system to make landfall

The Bureau of Meteorology's Baden Gilbert is providing an update on Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle on ABC Radio Far North.

He says the bureau now believes the category 5 storm has peaked in intensity and will weaken to a category 2 as it moves over the Cape.

But the BOM is still expecting Narelle to impact the Queensland coast during Friday morning.

The risk is also easing for south of Cooktown, with more information on the way at the 2am update from the BOM's Tropical Cyclone Centre.

Rainfall totals of between 40 and 50mm have been recorded over several hours between Coen and Lockhart River, and there is still potential for significant rainfall, with the highest risk around Port Douglas.

Good morning, I hope you are all staying safe and dry.

Welcome to our live coverage of Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle as it tracks towards the Queensland coast. Swathes of the state's Far North are under cyclone warnings as the category five system begins to cross the coast.

I'm standing by for the next scheduled Bureau of Meteorology warning due in the next 30 minutes or so and will bring you the key points as soon as it goes live.

Meanwhile, communities in the Northern  Territory are under a cyclone watch and bracing for the system's arrival, likely on Saturday.

Stay tuned as I bring you the latest Bureau of Meteorology warning due to be released at 2am AEST, and the key ABC frequencies and channels you can keep across our emergency coverage of Narelle.