Queenslanders face the threat of another cyclone reaching their shores within days as intense rain continues across Australia’s north.
A tropical low building in the Coral Sea is expected to turn towards the coast from Sunday, with the system most likely becoming a tropical cyclone by Monday.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the system could strengthen to a category three or higher, possibly making a “severe impact” on the Queensland coast.
A bureau spokesman said on Thursday a cyclone could cross the state’s east coast from Tuesday but it was too early to predict where it would make landfall.
“The earliest possible is in the latter part of Tuesday but that’s not particularly likely,” he said.
“We’re looking beyond that to get a better idea of when it might actually affect the Queensland coast.”
The new danger coincides with a massive clean-up effort finally gaining momentum in the state’s far north after record flooding in December caused by Cyclone Jasper.
Meanwhile, a monsoon trough moving slowly over the Northern Territory was delivering damaging winds and heavy rain to Darwin on Thursday.
Warm, humid and stormy conditions are likely across large tracts of Queensland and northeastern NSW on Thursday, with severe storms delivering heavy rain, damaging winds and potential flash flooding.
Local journalists supporting local people. Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email at the bottom of this article.
