Ex-Tropical Cyclone Penny dumped more than 110 millimetres of rain on far north Queensland and generated wind gusts of almost 100km/h on New Year's Day before being downgraded to a tropical low.

The weather bureau was monitoring the system closely and warned it could reintensify into a cyclone in the Coral Sea on Wednesday afternoon and potentially move back over land later in the week.

A satellite image of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Penny off the far north Queensland coast on Wednesday morning. Credit:Bureau of Meteorology

Meteorologist Jess Gardner said Cyclone Penny made landfall as a category 1 near Weipa, on the western side of the far north Queensland tip, about 3.30pm on Tuesday.

Penny hit Weipa "like a freight train" and battered the area with heavy rain and 110km/h wind gusts.