Tropical cyclone Kimi is expected to cross the north Queensland coast on Monday night or Tuesday morning, prompting Cairns’ major shopping centre to close.
Camera IconTropical cyclone Kimi is expected to cross the north Queensland coast on Monday night or Tuesday morning, prompting Cairns’ major shopping centre to close. Credit: News Corp Australia, Brendan Radke

Bureau of Meteorology warns of intense weather after tropical cyclone Kimi drops to category 1 storm

James Hall and Ellen RansleyNCA NewsWire

Queensland’s Tropical Cyclone Kimi may have been downgraded overnight but a number of towns are still likely to cop intense weather.

Dubbed a “erratic”, Tropical Kimi was downgraded to a category 1 overnight after spending most the evening as a category 2, with residents warned to be on alert due to how unpredictable it is.

Tropical cyclone Kimi weakened off the north Queensland coast after midnight and significant impacts on the coast are becoming less likely, but intensive weather is still expected to hit.

Residents in areas between Innisfail and Ayr, including Lucinda, Palm Island and Townsville, have been warned to prepare property to be lashed by the storm.

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Sustained winds near the centre of the cyclone were recorded at 75 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 100 kilometres per hour.

Gales with gusts of up to 120km/h remain “possible” about coastal and island communities between Lucinda and Ayr on Tuesday morning if the cyclone tracks further to the south.

Gales may also extend southwards to Bowen later on Tuesday if the system can persist as a tropical cyclone into Tuesday afternoon, although this is becoming less likely.

It was within 230 kilometres southeast of Cairns and 140 kilometres north northeast of Townsville .

The BOM said the cyclone is expected to drift towards the south-southeast overnight and become slow moving early on Tuesday, off the coast between Hinchinbrook Island and Townsville.

“The cyclone has displayed a weakening trend over the past few hours, and it is expected to weaken further during Tuesday,” the BOM said.

“In the longer term, the remnants of the system are expected to begin tracking back towards the north-northwest as a weak tropical low.”

The bureau has been busy issuing warnings all day, with residents in coastal areas between Innisfail and Bowen on alert for “flash flooding.

Heavy rainfall with the potential to produce flash flooding and major river flooding may affect the areas on Tuesday while a Flood Watch remains current.

Abnormally high tides are also likely on Tuesday, however the sea level should not exceed the highest tide of the year. Large waves are likely along the beachfront.

The system’s movement has been erratic, however, due to its recent movement towards the south-southeast, a coastal crossing was now “unlikely”, the BOM said.

Senior Meteorologist Laura Boekel said the cyclone was located east of Innisfail shortly after 4pm AEST, with the system intensifying throughout the day.

“As it moves further south, it is moving into an environment that isn’t favourable for development so, we are expecting it to begin weakening from either this evening or tomorrow,” she told reporters on Monday afternoon.

“The latest guide from the bureau now no longer has Kimi crossing the coast, but it does have it sort of meandering in the ocean, weakening as it moves south, and then looping back and continuing to weaken as it then moves north up the coast as a low pressure system.

“The uncertainty is high with tropical cyclone Kimi.”

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan implored residents in the state’s far north to keep an eye out for updates given the extraordinary nature of the storm.

“This particular cyclone is unusually unpredictable,” he said.

“We're seeing it changing its track every three hours or so. So that means everyone needs to be prepared.”

Mark Nolan, the mayor of Cassowary Coast Regional Council, which includes Innisfail, said the region had been preparing for the possibility of needing to social distance in emergency evacuation centres.

“We started planning six months ago because we knew that if we did get a tropical storm visit then we’d have to deal with COVID and the storm,” he told NCA NewsWire on Monday afternoon.

“Because it’s a small cyclone, it won’t complicate things in terms of having to open up cyclone shelters, but if it was a big cyclone and we opened up the shelters then we would have to manage how many could fit in there.

“So capacity was going to become an issue.”

Mr Nolan said the community wasn’t panicking because it had become accustomed to much larger cyclone threats, such as Yasi in 2011, but it was on high alert due to the risk of flooding.

“The big threat is rain, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“Our area is saturated from cyclone Imogen, with the remnants of which came through a few days ago and we’ve had plenty of rain.

“With the saturation of our fields and agriculture sector, we are acutely aware that whatever rain Kimi brings is going to be our biggest challenge.”

The update comes as a major Cairns shopping centre closed its doors earlier on Monday with the region preparing for the cyclone to hit land.

TC Kimi intensifies to category 2 system as it moves south while a Cyclone Watch is declared to Bowen.
Camera IconTC Kimi intensifies to category 2 system as it moves south while a Cyclone Watch is declared to Bowen. Credit: News Regional Media

Forecaster Alex Majchrowski said falls of 100-300mm were likely in the cyclone watch area.

“We could even see falls heavier than that, especially if thunderstorms develop as they wrap around the system,” he said.

As a result of the cyclone warning, Cairns Central shopping centre was closed on Monday.

“Cairns Central centre management will continue to monitor the situation closely and will act according to the advice of emergency services,” the centre said in a Facebook statement.

“Our focus continues to be the safety of all retailers, staff, customers and the Cairns community.”

Originally published as Destructive weather hitting towns