Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall early on Saturday morning, after the system “spun around on itself” and briefly stalled before resuming its predicted path to the populated south-east Queensland coast. The 3.8 million residents of urban areas between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast have been asked to hunker down in their homes from Thursday, ahead of an anticipated crossing on Friday.

Some in areas at risk of a severe storm surge were advised to leave before the worst conditions. Schools were closed and public transport halted.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Matthew Callopy said Alfred had “doubled back on its path” before resuming towards the coast, and that its crossing had been delayed by about 24 hours. It is still predicted to cross as a category two storm.

Briefly, authorities have said that Alfred’s delayed crossing does not mean a reduced impact and they advised affected communities not to be “hung up” on the precise crossing time.

At Main Beach on the Gold Coast, waves of 12.3m were recorded – the highest ever recorded at that site. Callopy added that if Alfred crossed the coast at high tide, storm surges of up to 1.5m were possible, with parts of the Redland Bay and Gold Coast likely to be most at risk.

Earlier forecasts suggested Alfred could develop into a “high end” category two system, though the most recent predictions are that winds will not be at the high end of the category, and that it was increasingly unlikely Alfred would develop into a category three system.

The Queensland Premier, David Crisafulli, urged Queenslanders to use the additional time to double-check their preparations. The New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, also contributed and said Alfred was “behaving like a completely unwanted house guest”.

Meanwhile, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he had spoken with the mayor of Lismore, Steve Krieg, overnight.

Forecasters also warned that the delayed track of the cyclone could be troublesome for communities along the coastline, whose natural defences are being eroded by strong surf conditions.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/06/tropical-cyclone-alfred-may-not-make-landfall-in-queensland-until-saturday-as-storm-slows