We’ve seen turbulent skies over central New Zealand which has been rare lately however across the ditch it’s been quite common and it still continues.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tim is heading towards Bowen and is expected to bring heavy rain, strong wind and high seas with a focus from Mackay to Townsville.

Tim formed in the Coral Sea as a cyclone on Thursday last week before heading out to sea and weakening over the weekend. It then became a low pressure system on Sunday, however its power has not been fully relinquished.

The tropical low pressure system is now gradually moving closer to the Queensland coast. It is likely to continue approaching Bowen from the east on today before skirting along the coast past Townsville on Wednesday morning.

The system will bring increased rainfall from the Wide Bay and Burnett district to the Peninsula over coming days. The heaviest falls are likely to be near Mackay and Bowen with strong southeasterly winds, possibly reaching gale force, driving rain onto the coast. This rain will begin overnight on Monday and continue until at least Wednesday when showers will begin easing. This coastline is likely to experience widespread falls of around 100mm with some locations expected to gain in excess of 200mm over the two day period.

As the low moves further north along the coast it will lose its structure and break up, bringing areas of heavy rain north of Townsville without much of an increase in wind. Townsville itself can expect wind and rain to increase on Wednesday with the movement of the low, but otherwise will only experience periods of rain.

Sea heights are also expected to become much larger particularly in the Capricornia and Central Coast where seas are forecast to reach up to four metres offshore.

Once Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tim has fully disintegrated around Thursday, a high pressure ridge will form in its place, directing the typical moderate to fresh southeasterly winds and showers onto the tropical Queensland coast.

WW & WZ