Cyclone Alfred Live Tracker: The rare Category 2 Storm approaches Australia’s coast as millions face “worst-case scenarios”

Gold Coast residents have been warned to stay indoors after 6pm (8am GMT) tonight as floods and destructive winds from tropical Cyclone Alfred begin to take hold.

“This looks like the most important event in our city, in terms of destructive winds and heavy rain we’ve seen since 1954,” Donna Gates warned at a press conference this afternoon.

With 800mm of rain expected, she said the conditions were “bad” and warned residents about preparing for a blackout as the cyclone intensifies.

“The very torrential rains last from the end of Friday until the first half of Saturday,” she said.

Cyclone Alfred’s slowdown could be the worst case scenario for southeast Queensland, experts warn.

The storm is currently moving at a speed of 16kmph, but experts fear it could slow down to 11kmph. This is significantly slower than a typical system.

A slow movement means that Alfred will increase the time it intensifies, supplying warm seawater and low vertical wind shears, making it stronger before reaching the coast.

Meteorologist Thomas Hinterdorfer said this could lead to extreme weather conditions, with some areas potentially causing heavy rain, destructive winds and rain rapids for up to 12-14 hours.

“There will be more time with lower vertical shears. There will be more time in warm seawater, and all that fuel will help it intensify,” Hinterdorfer told Currier Mail.

“It’s not a good scenario to have that. It’s a little slower so you’d prefer to go through faster.”

Similar slow moving cyclones in the past have caused devastating destruction. In 2017, Cyclone Debbie stagnated southeast Queensland, releasing rain up to 1,000mm, causing record flooding. That same year, U.S. Hurricane Harvey remained in Texas, dumping more than 1,500mm of rainfall, causing historic flooding in Houston. Slow-moving storms have become much more common in recent years.

A new map from the Australian Weather Service (BOM) shows it is currently about 345km east of Brisbane and 315km east of the Gold Coast.

It heads towards the southeastern Queensland coast at a speed of 16kph.

Alfred is a Category 2 cyclone and is expected to maintain this intensity as he approaches the southeastern Queensland coast on Thursday.

According to the BOM, Alfred is expected to cross the coast early Friday morning.

Authorities are asking people to “act now” and leave before the situation gets worse.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred warned Mike Washing, Commissioner of New South Wales Emergency Services, that it was a “multiple wind event as well as a rain event.”

“If you live directly on the coast and know where your high tide is, you’ll potentially see water over half of that high tide mark,” says the NSW SES Commissioner.

“You’re potentially and very likely, there’s wind that affects your location over 100kmph. If you don’t feel safe in that location, now is the time to move.”

Australia’s east coast is becoming brave due to the tropical cyclone swirling towards Brisbane, the country’s third most populous city.

Authorities warned that strong winds and flash floods put thousands of property in danger.

“If you are told to leave, you should leave. I cannot blunt it any more,” Queensland Prime Minister David Krizahulli told ABC News, calling on residents to monitor the evacuation order.

Destructive gusts of winds up to 155kph (96mph) are expected to occur from Thursday afternoon as tropical cyclone Alfred is expected to cross the coast early on Friday morning near Queensland’s capital Brisbane, as the Australian Weather Service said.

Queen Anne of Canard, who left Sydney on March 1 for her first world cruise of 2025, skipped Brisbane and sailed directly to Airlie Beach, arriving on Tuesday.

She is scheduled for Cairns on March 6th and will continue to Indonesia after spending an additional night in Darwin on March 10th.

Norwegian cruise lines also cancelled their stops on their way to Cairns, making the ships sail directly.

Cyclone Alfred has led to the cancellation of golf events, urging the Australian Football League (AFL) to postpone the season-opening match.

Golf officials have cancelled the Women’s Europe Tour, which co-sanctioned the WPGA Championship event on the Gold Coast amid forecasts of extreme winds and flooding.

Australia’s top flight in Rules Football, the AFL, has postponed two matches in southern Queensland.

Soccer Governance Body Football Queensland suspended all training and games in the southeastern part of the state on Wednesday.

Other sporting events have been cancelled, including the National Touch Football Championship in New South Wales.

Cyclone Alfred could result in heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash loading in the southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales, the Weather Service said in its latest update.

Thousands of Queenslanders fled their homes as Cyclone Alfred intensified into the Category 2 system.

Alfred changed course towards the southeastern Queensland coast.

The tropical cyclone is scheduled to land north of the city later on Thursday or early Friday.

It is expected to bring about massive flooding, rain and destructive winds of up to 130 kmh.