STC Alfred Overview

Good Arvo all. Thought I’d sit down and go through some data on Cyclone Alfred.

Tropical Low 22U formed on the 20th of Feb as a weak low off the coast of Cape York. He spent the next few days tracking east as a Tropical low, slowly intensifying as it went. Alfred was officially named by the BoM as a Category 1 Cyclone Alfred* on the Australian Scale with winds sustained of 75kph and gusts up to 95kph. He slowly intensified over the next few days becoming a category 2 cyclone at 16:00 AEST on Feb 24th packing sustained winds of between 89 and 117kph and gusts up to 164kph before being upgraded to a Category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone at 22:00 Feb 26th and his track shifting southwards, packing sustained winds between 118 and 159kph and gusts up to 224kph. The next day the BoM further upgraded him to Category 4 with Sustained Winds close to 165kph and Gusts up to 230kph and a visible eye. Later that night on the 26th/27th Alfred went through an Eyewall Replacement Cycle which caused him to bounce from Cat 3 and 4. At this point, Models were struggling with where the cyclone would go with the graveyard being the likely direction for a while before models settled and began showing the true direction…Initially to the SE then turning back to the west. He fluctuated from Cat 1 and 2 for the remainder of his Cyclone days. Doing loops and stalling every day for 3 days prior to landfall. He crossed Morton Island as a Category 1 Cyclone. Started tracking NW, weakening to a Tropical Low on 06:45 AEST on March 8th. After doing one last stall off the coast of Bribie Island he finally crossed the Mainland late March 8th early March 9th. The remnant low died later in the day on March 9th.

Flooding and Structural damage occurred across the SE QLD and NE NSW region, with widespread falls of over 500mm. The highest accumulation of rainfall for the even was over 1m of rain at Upper Springbrook with 1139mm. Multiple flood warnings and evacuations occurred across the regions, as of 16:30 AEST March 11 majority of flooded rivers are easing with flood levels falling. It may be a day or so before flooded roads and bridges are accessible (Not including those washed away).

Wind was fairly Destructive with Roofs being torn off in some areas. An unofficial reading of 141km/h was recorded on the Gold Coast tablelands by a Personal Weather station (As reported by Anthony Cornelius).

I currently have a flood relief fund raiser on Go Fund me, that was originally for NE NSW flood victims however I have expanded it to include those affected by Cyclone Alfred. You can find the fund raiser here: https://gofund.me/745ffdf7 all funds go directly to Givit a charity (I do not see a cent as I have arranged the Go fund me team to send all donations directly to Givit). Even $5 helps. All those who donate to the go fund me will be given the option to receive a free car bumper sticker designed by myself to tell others you donated to disaster relief, all you need to do is reply to the email I’ll send to the email you use to donate.

Alternatively you can donate directly to Givit here: https://www.givit.org.au/tropical-cyclone-alfred

Help your fellow Aussies in their time of need.

Have a good day – Nikko