Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The low pressure system that just passsed over American Samoa now has generated a tropical cyclone alert for the southern Cook Islands.

In its latest special weather bulletin for southern Cook Islands, the Fiji Meteorological Service said a tropical depression (TD06F) was located about 500 kilometres north-northwest of Palmerston Island at 2am Cook Islands time.

The depression is expected to intensify into a category one tropical cyclone in the next 6 to 12 hours.

It is expected to bring gale force winds over the southern Cook Islands with associated rain and thunderstorms.