Tropical Cyclone Alfred is currently positioned off the coast of Bribie Island, gradually approaching the mainland. Forecasts indicate it will weaken below tropical cyclone strength before making landfall between Maroochydore and Bribie Island later this morning.
Areas Affected:
Warning Zone
Noosa to Brisbane, not including Brisbane.
Details of Tropical Cyclone Alfred 22U at 5:00 am AEST [6:00 am AEDT]:
Intensity: Category 1, with sustained winds of 65 km/h near the center and gusts reaching up to 95 km/h.
Location: within 20 kilometres of 27.0 degrees South 153.3 degrees East, estimated to be 65 kilometres north northeast of Brisbane and 45 kilometres south southeast of Maroochydore.
Movement: Heading northwest at 10 km/h.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred, a Category 1 system, is currently situated off Bribie Island and slowly approaching the mainland. Coastal gales are beginning to subside, and Alfred is expected to weaken below tropical cyclone strength before making landfall later this morning.
After crossing the coast, the weakened cyclone will continue moving inland throughout the day. Despite its diminishing intensity, heavy rainfall is forecast to persist across southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales over the weekend.
Hazards:
HEAVY RAINFALL is expected to continue over southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales during the weekend. HEAVY to locally INTENSE RAINFALL which may lead to DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODING may occur over coastal and adjacent inland areas of southeast Queensland as Alfred moves inland during today. Separate Severe Weather Warning, Flood Watches, and Flood Warnings are current for southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales.
ABNORMALLY HIGH TIDES are likely to continue causing MINOR FLOODING of coastal low lying areas between Maroochydore and Ballina, particularly during this morning’s high tide. DAMAGING SURF leading to significant beach erosion remains likely for the open beaches between Noosa and Ballina, and further south over the New South Wales coast. Separate Coastal Hazard and Hazardous Surf warnings are current for southeast Queensland and New South Wales coasts.
Gales with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS to 120 kilometres per hour close to centre and over offshore areas is expected to ease in the next hour or two as Alfred weakens further.
A weakened Alfred will move over mainland coast during the morning and continue moving inland during the weekend. There is a chance that DAMAGING WIND GUSTS may occur over elevated terrain along the southern border ranges. A separate Severe Weather Warning is current for this.
Refer to associated warnings for Queensland and New South Wales at http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/warnings.
