Cyclone Alfred moved west across Queensland, Australia, on March 9, bringing strong winds and up to 15 inches of rain to some communities. (Video: The Washington Post)
Cyclone Alfred struck the east coast of Australia late Friday, unleashing strong winds, rough surf and dangerous rip currents along popular beaches over the weekend. An estimated 10 to 15 inches fell around Brisbane and on Moreton Island during the storm.
Widespread beach erosion and coastal wind damage affected parts of Queensland and New South Wales, while inland areas also felt the effects of heavy rain and freshwater flooding. In addition to the 15 inches in those areas, northeastern New South Wales also saw heavy rain, with 4 to 10 inches from Newcastle to the Queensland border. Sydney only saw an inch or two in most of its suburbs.
Meanwhile, nearly 5 inches of rainfall was recorded in a single hour at Cracow in New South Wales between 6:22 p.m. and 7:22 p.m. on Monday evening. In Pine Hills, 2 inches was recorded, and the Durah Homestead Alert saw 3 inches in two hours during the afternoon.
Before Alfred formed, the instigating system initially formed northeast of Australia over the Coral Sea on Feb. 20. It was upgraded to a tropical storm two days later, and began quickly intensifying. On Feb. 27, the Bureau of Meteorology upgraded Alfred to a Category 4-equivalent cyclone with winds of up to 130 mph at its core. The system was still offshore but exhibited a pinhole eye on satellite.
Alfred lingered offshore for another week and a half before weakening and making landfall on Moreton Island, South East Queensland, late Friday evening. Moreton Island is just east of Brisbane. A named storm hasn’t passed this close to Brisbane — the country’s third-largest city, with 2.7 million people — since Zoe in 1974.
Winds were estimated at 45 mph, meaning the system was the equivalent of a low-end tropical storm. Still, the slow-moving nature of the storm caused serious erosion.
Tropical cyclones (and all low-pressure systems) spin clockwise in the southern hemisphere, so the heaviest rain totals — associated with onshore flow — hit south of the storm’s center.
Meanwhile, scattered strong to severe thunderstorms continue to affect Australia; most of Queensland was under a severe thunderstorm warning Monday evening local time.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned of additional “major flood warnings” in effect for the following rivers:
Lockyer and Laidley Creeks, Queensland.
Bremer River and Warrill Creek, Queensland.
Logan River, Queensland.
Albert River, Queensland.
Richmond River, New South Wales.
Clarence River, New South Wales.