02-03-2025
Cyclone threatening to hit major city
An expert is predicting Tropical Cyclone Alfred will make landfall near Brisbane on Thursday, as southern Queensland continues to be battered by strong winds and huge swells.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued an update on the category two system just before 5am on Sunday, stating Alfred was forecast to move southward and weaken 'roughly parallel' to the Queensland coast on Sunday, before moving to the southeast on Monday.
'Alfred is then expected to slow down and is likely to turn westward from Tuesday, moving back towards the southern Queensland coast,' the Bureau said.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred is currently moving over the Coral Sea about 510 km east of Rockhampton and is expected to cause strong to gale-force winds around K'gari (Fraser Island) on Sunday.
'Severe coastal hazards are likely for southern Queensland and northeast New South Wales.
'A large and powerful to potentially damaging easterly swell as well as abnormally high tides are forecast about exposed southern Queensland beaches, possibly extending to northern New South Wales from Monday.'
Thomas Hinterdorfer from Higgins Storm Chasing told the Courier Mail on Saturday the major models they were using suggested Alfred would begin tracking west to Queensland throughout the week.
'Nothing before Tuesday says a landfall is expected, but then from Wednesday onwards, it gets a little bit more interesting with the model scenarios as they're currently playing out,' Mr Hinterdorfer said.
'There's definitely the possibility of it from probably Wednesday onwards or midweek onwards, several models have that scenario at the moment, but of course, we need to let them play out a little bit more just before we hard lock it.'
Mr Hinterdorfer took to Facebook on Sunday morning warning southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales residents to be prepared for landfall.
'Its been 33 years since a tropical cyclone has made landfall as a categorised system in southeastern QLD … and it looks like that streak or drought is about to come to an end,' he wrote.
'All model guidance continues to suggest that Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forecast to make landfall over southeast QLD next week.'
The Bureau encouraged residents and communities living on the Queensland coast and the northern New South Wales coast to stay up to date with the latest tropical cyclone information and forecast tracks on its website in the coming days.
