Tropical low expected to develop into cyclone

22 Jan 2024 / Queensland, Australia

A tropical low in the Coral Sea is very likely to develop into a tropical cyclone from Tuesday (23 January). It is forecast to begin moving towards the Queensland coast later today with coastal crossing around mid-week with zone most likely being between Innisfail and Airlie Beach.

Gales with damaging wind gusts to 120 km/h may develop about coastal and island communities between Ayr and St Lawrence from as early as Wednesday morning and extend to adjacent inland areas later on Wednesday.

Heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding may develop about coastal areas between Ayr and St Lawrence during Wednesday before spreading to adjacent inland areas and possibly further north to the North Tropical Coast during Thursday and into Friday.

As the system approaches the coast, a storm tide is possible between Ayr and St Lawrence. Large waves may produce minor flooding along the foreshore.

As the system is still well away from the coast, currently there are no impacts on coal ports/ terminals operations and railways. However, if it moves as forecast and/or tracks south of Townsville this will affect the coal terminals and coal mines including shipping movements.

There is no advice at this point from Harbour Masters or terminals regarding planned closures.

For further details and updates, as well as information about operations in Australia, contact GAC Australia at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.