Cyclone Owen is rapidly gaining strength in the Gulf of Carpentaria and could pack destructive wind gusts of 200km/h when it crosses the Queensland coast.

Forecasters expect Owen, dubbed the “zombie cyclone”, to be a category three cyclone when it crosses a remote part of the Queensland coast, likely on Friday.

Communities between Karumba to Pormpuraaw, on the western side of Cape York Peninsula, are on alert for the possibility of a direct hit.

Owen is currently a category two sitting very close to the Northern Territory coastline, between Port Roper and Port McArthur.

It’s expected to change direction and head back towards the Queensland coast later on Thursday before making landfall on Friday and continuing across the peninsula towards the state’s east coast.

The cyclone could dump 300 to 400mm of rain on parts of the Cape York Peninsula.

But east coast communities could also see very heavy rainfall over the weekend.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster James Taylor said Owen could be dragged southward, along Queensland’s east coast, with the help of a low pressure system expected to develop over Victoria.

“It’ll be the upper trough that develops the low over southeastern Victoria that drags Tropical Cyclone Owen towards the east, and probably southeastward, over the weekend,” he told ABC radio.

“That creates a potential threat for large parts of the eastern Queensland coast, particular from flash flooding.”

Mr Taylor said Owen could do what Cyclone Oswald did in 2013, and track south along Queensland’s east coast, bringing driving rain with it.

“Is there potential for that to happen with this cyclone? Yes. But we won’t be able to be certain about it probably until Friday afternoon, when we know where Owen is in relation to that upper trough.”

Thunderstorms, rain, hail to lash Victoria

A month’s worth of rain is expected to crash down on Victoria in one day, as people are being warned to brace for wild weather.

The wrath of tropical cyclone Owen will be dragged into a low-pressure system forming over Victoria on Thursday.

The Bureau of Meteorology warns there will be heavy rain, thunderstorms and damaging to destructive winds associated with tropical cyclone Owen.

The low-pressure system is expected to dump between 50 and 100mm of rain in Victoria’s northeast and central areas, including Melbourne, depending on thunderstorm activity.

Other areas are forecast to have between 30 to 50mm on Thursday.

It is due to bring the average December rainfall in one hit.

Hail stones about 2 centimetres in size could fall as damaging winds with gusts up to 90km/h sweep through the warning areas.