With Tropical Cyclone Irene affecting Vanuatu, the local weather office says the Cook Islands will not be affected at this stage.

Cook Islands Meteorological director Arona Ngari said as of yesterday TC Irene had upgraded to category two in the vicinity of Vanuatu, moving East South East at 20 knots.

“It will not affect us at this stage,” Ngari said.

However he said there are fragments of the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) over the Southern Cook Islands that will bring some cloudy periods with showers that could be heavy at times.

During the weekend, Ngari said it would be patchy with some passing showers.

Meanwhile, strong force winds and heavy rain from TC Irene mainly affected Vanuatu and was likely to track over open waters and remain to the southwest of Fiji yesterday.