Cyclone Ului may hit North Queensland
On the way: Cyclone Ului's predicted path. Source: www.bom.gov.au
UPDATE, March 18, 6am: Cyclone Ului could cross the Queensland coast anywhere between Cardwell and St Lawrence this weekend, forecasters say.
The latest forecast is for the cyclone, now a category three, to turn west-southwest and begin moving closer to the Queensland coast tomorrow.
Pictures: Cairns' amazing weather
Earlier predictions suggested that the cyclone would cross the coast in central Queensland, but the weather bureau now says it could cross as far north as Cardwell, 200km south of Cairns and 150km north of Townsville.
The danger zone stretches along the coast as far south as St Lawrence in central Queensland, between Mackay and Rockhampton.
However, forecasters stress that some uncertainty remains in this outlook period.
More cyclone news & information
At 4am Cyclone Ului was about 1160km northeast of Mackay and 1350km east of Cooktown, and was moving south at about 6km/h.
Forecaster Amber Young said the cyclone's intensity shouldn't be underestimated.
"Although it has been downgraded to a three it's a high category three on the border of a four," she said.
"We are expecting it to re-intensify on Thursday night or Friday morning to a category four.
"By the time it does make landfall, we're expecting between 230km to 280km wind gusts - that's very destructive wind gusts."
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 situated in the Tasman Sea and Tropical Cyclone Ului.
Seas and swell are expected to increase along much of the Queensland east coast and produce dangerous surf conditions on the exposed coasts.
Latest Cairns weather forecast
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Cyclone Ului hovering offshore
UPDATE, March 17, 11pm: Strong winds are continuing to affect the Far North Queensland coast, as Cyclone Ului hovers offshore over the Coral Sea.
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UPDATE, March 17, 2pm: Twelve Far Northern beaches remain closed as strong winds continue to affect the coast, while Tropical Cyclone Ului continues to move across the Coral Sea.
