Cyclone Ului to impact at weekend
UPDATE, March 17, 6am: The Cairns region can breathe easy for now as central Queensland braces for Cyclone Ului to cross the coast over the weekend.
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The weather bureau’s latest update says the most likely scenario is for the cyclone to impact the central Queensland coast sometime during the weekend.
At 4am, the category 4 cyclone was about 1240 km northeast of Mackay and 1370km east of Cooktown, and was moving south at about 4km/h.
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Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului is expected to continue moving in a southerly direction, remaining well offshore, for the next two days.
On Friday the cyclone is expected to turn west-southwest and begin moving closer to the Queensland coast, before crossing in the Rockhampton region over the weekend.
Latest weather bureau cyclone bulletin
The windy conditions over much of the Queensland east coastal waters will continue due to the tight pressure gradient generated by a combination of a high pressure system in the Tasman Sea and Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului. Seas and swell are expected to gradually increase along much of the Queensland east coast.
A gale warning remains in place for the coast from Cooktown to Burnett Heads, with southeasterly winds of 30/35 knots expected and seas of 3m to 3.5m in open waters. From Lockhart River to Cooktown a strong wind warning for southeasterly winds of 25/30 knots, with seas 2.5m to 3m outside the Reef.
Latest Cairns weather forecast
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Cyclone Ului tracks further south
UPDATE, March 17, 11am: Cyclone Ului is continuing to move slowly south as forecasters stress its path is still unpredictable.
Cyclone Ului grinds to a halt
UPDATE, March 16, 11pm: Cyclone Ului has ground to a halt over the Coral Sea east of Cooktown.
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Cyclone Ului may close in on coast this weekend
UPDATE, March 16, 11am: Cyclone Ului is expected to close in on the Queensland coast on Friday and over the weekend, bringing rough seas and big swells.
