{"id":518995,"date":"2026-03-04T22:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/518995\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T22:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:32:13","slug":"north-queensland-braces-for-rain-possible-flooding-as-tropical-low-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/518995\/","title":{"rendered":"North Queensland braces for rain, possible flooding as tropical low looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

North Queensland is bracing for heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding as disorganised tropical low 29U approaches the mainland.<\/p>\n

The system in the Coral Sea, 450 kilometres east-north-east of Cairns, is expected to cross Queensland’s North Tropical Coast on Friday.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Meteorology warned there was a moderate risk that the low would be upgraded to a tropical cyclone by then.<\/p>\n

\"Weather<\/p>\n

The tropical low 29U is moving towards the Queensland coast, and could still grow into a tropical cyclone before the weekend. (Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology)<\/p>\n

The highest chance of the system becoming a tropical cyclone officially is through today and early tomorrow, when there is risk of it becoming a tropical cyclone, likely named Owen or Narelle.<\/p>\n

However, meteorologist Harry Clark said the system weakened slightly overnight.<\/p>\n

“It’s looking a bit disorganised in terms of its thunderstorm activity,” he explained.<\/p>\n

“From a tropical cyclone point of view I guess [that] is a good thing as it means it is sort of limiting its potential strengthening.<\/p>\n

“We are still expecting to see that tropical low come ashore tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

A track map issued by the Bureau of Meteorology predicted the system would cross between Cairns and Innisfail tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\"Grey<\/p>\n

Rain is expected to increase on the north tropical coast from Thursday. (Supplied: Sangeetha Badya)<\/p>\n

In its most recent update, the weather bureau warned that the low or tropical cyclone would deliver powerful winds as it reached the coastline.<\/p>\n

Gales with wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour are forecast to hit exposed coastal areas from Port Douglas and Cardwell from Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is forecast to develop about coastal and adjacent inland areas north of Ingham from Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

Mr Clark explained the heaviest rainfall was first expected at the northern end of the watch zone.<\/p>\n

“The worst of the rainfall will be on the north-west of that system for the next 36 hours so towards Cooktown and Cairns.”\"Boats<\/p>\n

The tropical low is moving at a typical speed toward the Queensland coast. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)<\/p>\n

The weather bureau said tides were likely to be higher than normal between Port Douglas and Ingham but were not expected to exceed the highest tide of the year.<\/p>\n

The cyclone watch area extends from Cooktown to Palm Island and a flood watch is current for northern and far northern catchments.<\/p>\n

Emergency services on stand-by\"A<\/p>\n

Sandbagging stations have been made available in Cairns. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)<\/p>\n

The Queensland Fire Department has deployed staff to the region ahead of the possible cyclone.<\/p>\n

State coordinator Rob Boniwell said five swiftwater rescue teams had been positioned between Cooktown and Ingham, “right the way along that eastern coastline to ensure we’ve got a good spread of response capability”.<\/p>\n

Chief Superintendent Boniwell said it was likely an additional five crews would be positioned as far south as Gladstone, as well as at inland locations such as Quilpie.<\/p>\n

“It’s really necessary for us to target and position our resources where they’re most needed,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Cairns residents Elijah Raymond and Angus Caeli are not very concerned about the chance of a cyclone. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)<\/p>\n

No worries about wet weather<\/p>\n

Dark clouds have rolled in over Cairns but the wet season weather has not stopped people from spending time outdoors.<\/p>\n

Trinity Beach resident Elijah Raymond said he was not concerned.<\/p>\n

“We don’t mind a bit of rain. It’s the far north. It’ll dry off eventually,” he said.<\/p>\n

“As long as we can go fishing, we’re all good.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Deb Bowen is visiting her former home, Cairns, from Brisbane and is hoping to return before the low reaches the coast. (ABC Far North: Conor Byrne)<\/p>\n

Visitor Deb Bowen said it was wise for locals to prepare their homes, but she was not worried.<\/p>\n

“I think they need to be informed,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I’m staying in a motel, so I’ve got nothing to prepare.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"North Queensland is bracing for heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding as disorganised tropical low 29U approaches the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,259181,259183,259180,259184,44,259182,259179],"class_list":["post-518995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bureau-of-meterology-cyclone-updates","tag-cairns-weather","tag-coral-sea","tag-mackay-weather","tag-news","tag-townsville-weather","tag-tropical-low-29u"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}