Tropical North Queensland is on Cyclone watch today, as Tropical Cyclone Kimi hovers off the North Tropical Coast.
At 11am EST, TC Kimi was situated 90km east of Cairns and 250km north of Townsville, moving south at 12 kilometres per hour. The category 1 system is producing sustained winds of 85kph with max gusts to 120kph.
During Monday, Kimi is expected to continue moving in a southerly direction whilst intensifying slightly with the potential to reach a category 2 status by Monday afternoon. At this stage, the Bureau of Meteorology has Kimi forecast to make landfall around the Cardwell region in North Queensland, with a Tropical Cyclone Warning current from Port Douglas to Ayr. However, Kimi is likely to weaken on approach to landfall and potentially further south towards the Townsville region during Tuesday morning.
Should Kimi cross the coast, damaging to locally destructive winds, heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding and a small storm surge will be likely for coastal locations overnight Monday and into Tuesday.
Image 1: Bureau of Metorology Tropical Cyclone Threat Map. Valid 18/01/2021