Australia -- Queensland Weather Update

MELBOURNE - Mar 19/09 - SNS -- The current forecast for the state of Queensland was released by Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

IDQ1070001
WARNING SUMMARY
Gale warning for coastal waters between Ayr and St Lawrence.
Strong wind warning for remaining coastal waters between Cooktown and Gladstone.
STATE FORECAST
for Thursday night and Friday
Isolated showers and thunderstorms over the northern tropics, and also about the
central and southern interior this evening. Showers about the east coast and
adjacent inland. Patchy light rain about the Capricornia to Sunshine Coasts
clearing overnight. Isolated afternoon thunderstorms about the Granite Belt and
far southern Downs on Friday. Fine elsewhere. Moderate to fresh S to SE winds
along the east coast, strong and gusty about the central coast and islands.
Light to moderate SE to NE winds elsewhere.
EXTENDED OUTLOOK
A high over the Tasman Sea will continue to extend a ridge along the Queensland
coast with SE winds and showers, these showers also extending into the adjacent
inland. Some showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue over Cape York
Peninsula. An upper trough moving over New South Wales and southeast Queensland
is likely to increase these showers about the Wide Bay and Southeast coasts
during Friday, easing during Saturday. Isolated thunderstorms are also possible
about the Granite Belt and far southern Darling Downs.
The low pressure system over the northern Coral Sea is expected to deepen over
the next few days and is likely to become a tropical cyclone in a favourable
upper atmospheric environment. The future evolution of this system is uncertain.
An approaching upper trough may capture the cyclone and move it southeast away
from Queensland by late in the weekend. Alternatively, if the interaction with
the upper trough is weaker, the cyclone would remain relatively slow-moving over
the central Coral Sea. With either scenario, strong winds are likely to continue
about parts of the east coast, due to a combination of the deepening low and the

---

STAT News Service