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Severe Cyclone Alfred brings Dangerous Swells and High Tides

Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred (Category 3) is over Coral Sea close to Queensland coast this Saturday before moving further away from the coast during Sunday and Monday. 

Image: A four-hour infrared satellite loop in the early hours of Saturday morning, March 1st, showing Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred to the east of Qld.

Despite the uncertainty about the track of this system in the mid week, Alfred is moving close to the coast this weekend, and severe coastal hazards are likely for southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales.

According to the BoM "A large and powerful to potentially damaging easterly swell as well as abnormally high tides are developing about exposed central and southern Queensland beaches from later today, and possibly to northern New South Wales from Sunday or Monday."

Image: Significant Wave Height and Direction (feet) forecast in Queensland coast at 10pm AEST on Saturday 1st March, according to ECMWF.

As Felix Levesque explained here, the direction of this swell, combined with its size, is very rare for this region.  

Furthermore, the moon phase can also contribute to significant coastal erosion and potentially coastal inundation to beaches and locations not accustomed to these large waves. This is because today is a New Moon, and during a New Moon, the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun align, both pulling in the same direction. It means that the combined gravitational pull of the moon and sun causes the ocean to bulge more than usual, resulting in higher high tides, increasing the coastal flooding risk and stronger currents.

Please check the latest warnings for the most up-to-date information and be sure to stay on the Weatherzone news feed into the weekend and the new week for more TC Alfred updates.