Sydney, February 26: A tropical cyclone off northeast Australia has a high probability of making landfall on a highly-populated stretch of coast, according to forecasts. Tropical cyclone Alfred was expected to turn toward the coast of the state of Queensland over the weekend, citing weather models that predict systems up to two weeks in advance. According to the models, the system was expected to make landfall next week between Brisbane and the city of Townsville, a highly-populated stretch of coast over 1,000 km long that includes the cities of Mackay, Rockhampton, and Bundaberg as well as several popular tourism destinations.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), which forecasts the track map of cyclones up to four days in advance, said on Wednesday morning that Alfred was about 1,000 km east of Townsville in the northern Coral Sea and slow-moving. It said that the storm was at category two intensity, with wind gusts of up to 140 km per hour, and expected to reach category three strength on Thursday.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Cyclone Zelia Alert: Tropical Cyclone Rapidly Intensifying Into Category 4 Storm As Australia Braces for Destructive Winds and Heavy Rains.

"There is high confidence that Alfred will remain well off the Queensland coast until late in the week. The track is highly uncertain in the weekend with the risk of Alfred moving closer to the Queensland coast."

Communities in and around Townsville on Queensland's tropical north coast were in the process of cleaning up and recovering after being hit by catastrophic flooding earlier in February, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The Global Forecast System (GFS) predicts Alfred will track west this weekend and make landfall in Central Queensland by Tuesday.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Cyclone Zelia Live Tracker Map on Windy: Tropical Cyclone Rapidly Strengthens Near Australia, Reaches Category 5 Before Landfall; Check Real-Time Status.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model - often touted as one of the world's best - expects the system to make landfall between Townsville and Bundaberg by Sunday. Impacts are already being felt in Queensland with the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast to receive intensifying wind gusts and powerful waves.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2025 03:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).