In a flicker of good news for residents of Darwin the latest Bureau of Meteorology track map shows the category two system passing north of the city rather than over it.
But a cyclone watch has been extended to the city, with the bureau warning it can still expect intense rainfall and dangerous winds on the weekend with the possibility of destructive wind gusts on Saturday.
In the early hours of Thursday the first cyclone of the season had sustained winds near the centre of 95km/h with wind gusts to 130km/h and was about 415km northeast of Darwin.
The bureau said Fina was expected to turn southwest on Thursday towards the Top End coast, with a warning zone in place from Cape Don to Warruwi, including the Cobourg Peninsula and Minjilang.
It's forecast to approach the peninsula and Tiwi Islands on Friday as a category two system.
Gales with damaging wind gusts may develop over the Cobourg Peninsula from late afternoon on Thursday and gales are expected for the Tiwi Islands during Friday.
Destructive wind gusts may develop as the system nears the coast and local heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding in coastal areas between the Tiwi Islands and Maningrida from Friday.
Coastal residents on the Tiwi Islands and between Cape Hotham and Maningrida are warned of a dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre crosses the coast during Friday and Saturday.
The Northern Territory Emergency Service urges residents in those impacted regions to be prepared and to secure boats and property.
The latest bureau cyclone track map shows the system passing over Melville Island north of Darwin, with the NT capital at the edge of the forecast gale-force winds zone.
Darwin residents have been stocking up on basic supplies including bottled water, bread and canned goods as they prepare to bunker down ahead of the cyclone, leaving empty supermarket shelves.
Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said the most likely scenario was for Fina to cross the Van Diemen Gulf on Saturday and move to the north of Darwin early on Sunday as a category-two system.
There was a small chance it could strengthen into a severe category-three system, "but this remains an outside likelihood", he said in an audio update.
Darwin can expect strong winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms ramping up over the weekend, with the potential for flash flooding.
"The windiest spell for Darwin is likely to be from midday Saturday to perhaps midday Sunday, a very blustery 24 hours there as the cyclone crosses by likely somewhere to the north," Mr Hines said.
The winds could be very strong, potentially damaging property, trees, street signs and caravans and causing power outages and very rough conditions on coastal waters, he said.
The NT's emergency operations centre was activated on Wednesday and extra police have been sent to the Tiwi Islands and other remote communities.
People have been urged to ensure they have a cyclone plan and to shelter at home, with most of Darwin's buildings made to withstand cyclone conditions.
"The safest advice we can give you is if your house is built to code then stay in your home," NT Emergency Services chief officer Wayne Snell said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
Darwin has not experienced a cyclone since category two system Marcus cut power to nearly 29,000 properties in March 2018.
Cyclone Tracey was the most devastating system to hit Darwin, killing 66 people after the city was destroyed on Christmas Day in 1974.
