Cyclone Victor

The system, which has sustained winds of 150 kilometres an hour at its centre, has moved south between Niue and the Cook Islands but is now turning westward.

On its current trajectory, the cyclone is expected to pass about 300 south of Niue and be within about 400 kilometres of Tonga's main island by Friday.

There's an active convergence zone slowly moving around the Cook Islands, with Palmerston to continue to experience winds up to 100 kilometres per hour.

A gale warning remains in place for Palmerston and a strong wind warning for the rest of the Cooks.

The atoll has been on high alert as the cyclone, upgraded to category 3 on Sunday and centred several hundred kilometres away, moved slowly towards it.

Winds close to the centre are about 115 km/h. The Fiji Meteorological Service says the cyclone is intensifying and the wind strength will increase to 150 km/h.

The category two cyclone currently has winds of 90 kilometres an hour at its centre as it moves south-southwest past the northern atolls at about three kilometres an hour.

Palmerston is closest to the cyclone's path, and a resident, William Rowe, says every warning has Victor inching closer to the atoll.