The Australian weather bureau cancelled on Thursday a cyclone watch it made for Cape York in Queensland. The bureau explained its move to changes in ex-tropical cyclone Grant.

Forecaster Bill O'connor, who is based in Cairns, explained that Grant is moving faster than expected and would unlikely change before it crosses the coast on early Friday morning.

Because of these changes, the bureau also cancelled the cyclone watch for Thursday Island to the Gilbert River Mouth, but it issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain, damaging wind and abnormally high tides for areas north of Karumba to Cardwell.

Mr O'connor did not rule out that the weather system could still cause flooding. Ahead of its arrival, he forecast gales or very strong winds could batter the very northern part of the western side of the peninsula, north of Cape Keerweer, and the north-westerly flow and monsoonal flow pushing to that part of the cape.

"It's going to be an extremely deep tropical low, making its way across that Gulf, and at the moment it looks like it will probably be a little bit quicker than we had been anticipating," Mr O'connor said.

He previously placed Cape York on a cyclone watch because Grant was moving on Wednesday night east across the Gulf of Carpentaria and threatened to transform into a weak category 1 system, with gale force winds by the time it reaches the west coast of Cape York Peninsula on Thursday.

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