The season's first cyclone is a category 1 system, located about 265km east of Cairns.
It is expected to re-intensify into a category 2 cyclone by Tuesday afternoon as it moves slowly toward the coast.
Cyclone Jasper looks set to impact landfall near Port Douglas north of Cairns by Wednesday lunchtime.
It may even become a category 3 system by the time it crosses the coast, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.
Cairns is preparing for gale force winds, heavy rain and a king tide. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)
"If the system is slower and crosses on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning there is a slight chance that it will intensify into a category 3 before crossing," a bureau spokesperson told AAP.
In the meantime heavy rain and wind will be "ramping up" in the far north on Tuesday.
Gale force winds of up to 120km/h are expected to develop along the Queensland coast between Cape Flattery and Townsville.
"Going into tomorrow we've got destructive winds of up to 140km/h expected to develop between Wujal Wujal and Innisfail from early on Wednesday," the spokesperson said.
Strong winds are expected to move inland as the cyclone crosses.
"Cyclone Jasper will weaken as it heads inland on Thursday, heading towards the Gulf of Carpentaria," the bureau said.
Evacuation centres have been set up in Cairns, Port Douglas and Cooktown.
A cyclone watch zone extends inland and further north to Cape Melville.
Preparations are well under way in the far north where there are fears up to 500mm of rain will fall in the Cairns region with a king tide looming.
Sandbags have been provided in Cairns where about 15,000 properties are at risk of storm surge flooding.
The Cairns hospital is also vulnerable, prompting contingency plans including the cancellation of elective surgery on Wednesday to free up capacity.
⚠�🌀Tropical cyclone — Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) #warning continues between Cooktown and Townsville, and a Watch area extending north to Cape Melville and inland. Gales forecast to begin on Tuesday. Landfall on Wednesday between Cooktown and Innisfail. Details and updates: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/6wYALYDbTKDecember 11, 2023
A nearby aged care facility may also be evacuated.Â
Cairns airport remains operational but a number of airlines have indicated there will be schedule changes or flight cancellations.Â
"Passengers will be advised by their airline of any operational impact related to Tropical Cyclone Jasper," Cairns airport CEO Richard Barker said.
About 40 police officers and 70 SES workers have travelled to the far north to help.
Cairns mayor Terry James urged locals to stock up and be prepared for up to five days without power.
"The roads will be cut off, potentially the power will be cut off," he said.
About 450 Energy Queensland staff have been deployed to Rockhampton and Townsville in preparation to respond to power outages.
All national parks and campsites north of the Daintree River have been closed.
People have been urged to avoid road travel throughout far north Queensland.
"It's been over 60 years since we've had a direct hit," Mr James said.
"There's a lot of stories out there that say we're protected. Well, we're not protected."
Police urged the community not to be complacent.
"We certainly hope it will be a low category cyclone but we plan for the worst so we are working hard to ensure we protect the community," Acting Chief Superintendent Sonia Smith said in Cairns.
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