Queensland’s third cyclone in less than a week is threatening to form in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

A cyclone warning has been issued for coastal and island communities from the Northern Territory-Queensland border to Kowanyama, on Cape York Peninsula’s west coast.

Just before 5am (AEST), a tropical low was 95km south-southeast of Mornington Island and 40km north of Burketown,

The system could develop into a cyclone in the next 24 hours or so.

“It’s just a matter of whether it does track over water for long enough,” senior forecaster Matthew Bass told the ABC.

“It could well be Queensland’s third cyclone within a week.”

Cyclone Dylan crossed the north Queensland coast on Friday as a category two storm, bringing heavy rain but causing little damage.

The second system, Cyclone Edna, formed on Saturday but petered out in the Coral Sea.