Coral Sea tropical low 'unlikely' to intensify into cyclone, but heavy weather still on the way

A tropical low in the Coral Sea is continuing to move towards Queensland's south-east, but the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says it is unlikely to intensify into a cyclone.

Mike McMaster and Max Wilson head into the surf on
the Sunshine Coast which has wild winds expected.

But gale-force winds and dangerous surf are still expected to impact the southern coastline from Wednesday.

The system is about 1,300 kilometres north-east of the Sunshine Coast and will keep tracking south on Tuesday, but is not expected to cross the coast.

On Tuesday afternoon, BOM forecaster Dean Narramore said winds would pick up on Tuesday night around the Fraser Island coast area.

Read the ABC News story - “Coral Sea tropical low 'unlikely' to intensify into cyclone, but heavy weather still on the way.”

Heat will get worse before it gets better

Beachgoers have been the big winners
with the current spell of weather.

AN upper level low in the Coral Sea will bring rainfall to northern Queensland as it continues to move west and will also see an increase in showers on the Sunshine Coast next week.

Thursday's maximum temperature at Maroochydore will top at 29 degrees before rising to 32 degrees on New Year's Eve.

But Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Adam Wood said conditions would be hotter in the hinterland.

There is no joy for surfers with northerly to north-easterly winds to 25kph persisting for the next few days and into the new week.

Read Bill Hoffman’s story in the Sunshine Coast Daily - “Heat will get worse before it gets better.”

'Amazing' records in the pipeline, or rather our oceans

S

ea temperatures around Australia are posting "amazing" records that climate specialists say signal global records set in 2014 may be broken this year and next.



Professor Andy Pitman,
head of climate research
from the University of
New South Wales.

March sea-surface temperatures in the Coral Sea region off Queensland broke the previous high by 0.12 degrees – a big jump for oceans that are typically more thermally stable than land. Temperatures for the entire Australian ocean region also set new highs for the month, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Read the story by Peter Hannam in the Melbourne Age: “Record sea-surface temperatures in Pacific point to record warmth in 2015 and 2016”.

 

“The climate is on a performance-enhancing drug and that drug is carbon dioxide” – Professor Andy Pitman.