BUREAU of Meterology forecasters have predicted some potentially scary weather for the rest of this week as Cyclone Owen heads towards south-east Queensland.
Yesterday afternoon they announced that Owen had moved into the Gulf of Carpentaria overnight Monday and meteorologists could see thunderstorms wrapping around the system. Warm sea surface temperatures provided a boost of energy that saw the system gain new life by Tuesday.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Aditi Sharan said the cyclone was likely to change course today, tracking south and moving overland as a category one system.
“This is associated with very heavy rainfall and destructive winds and likely to affect areas right down to the south-east coast,” she said.
“We can expect extremely heavy rainfalls between 150 and 200ml over the weekend.”
Ms Sharan said the system would hit the Townsville coast by Saturday and be east of Rockhampton on Sunday.
The forecast for the remainder of the week is for possible showers today and tomorrow with thunderstorms predicted from Friday and likely to clear by Monday.
Yesterday BOM state manager Bruce Gunn said a flood watch was already in place for catchments in the Gulf of Carpentaria and southern Cape York Peninsula.
“This is an evolving situation, with the potential to be a high-impact event so it's important that the community follow official warnings on the cyclone's forecast track and associated impacts including flooding, damaging to destructive winds and storm activity,” Mr Gunn said,
“With many people travelling during the school holidays, we are urging the public to stay tuned for updated warnings, be aware of local conditions and always follow the advice of local emergency services.”
For the latest information see warnings and the cyclone portal on the BOm website at bom.gov.au/cyclone.
