04/03/2026
Due to the possibility of this hitting us by Friday, I'm going to make an executive decision and cancel any upcoming shows this weekend.
I do apologise, but the possibility of roads being closed by the weekend are far too high.
I will be intouch with those of you with bookings this weekend soon.
Stay safe everyone ❤️
Heads up Far North Queensland, you are on
watch tonight. There is a flood risk for those around Cairns.
Areas between Ingham including Cardwell north through Cairns and the Daintree to Cooktown and inland to Atherton are expecting a potential strong tropical low to track through on Friday, with damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall expected. There is a chance this system becomes a cyclone, however regardless of development strong wind gusts and heavy rainfall will occur across the North Tropical Coast.
The tropical low is currently north of Willis Island well offshore from the coast, and has slowly strengthened today to have wind gusts up to 100km/h in its centre despite high levels of wind shear. The system will track west/southwest over the coming couple of days, eventually crossing the coast around Cairns or just north of, on Friday (most likely in the morning).
Impacts will be insignificant when compared to a true North QLD tropical cyclone impact however that is not to say that this system will be a nothing event, as there will be heavy rainfall, strong gusts and widespread flooding through the weekend. You need to make preparations for said wind and rain, and ensure you are ready to ride out some significant flooding in the region.
From tomorrow morning, heavy showers and gusty winds will begin moving ashore, first in the Daintree then extending south through Cairns around lunchtime and then down to the Cassowary Coast, becoming more frequent and more severe in the afternoon. Townsville is could see showers and gusty winds in the evening, however areas further south shouldn't anticipate much at all. Conditions will deteriorate along the coast north and south of the anticipated landfall site considerably from tomorrow night onwards, with cyclonic winds and rain set to arrive in early on Friday morning between Cooktown and north of Cairns. The strongest winds and heaviest rain is likely to occur on Friday between Cairns and Cooktown, before slowly easing on Saturday and clearing up on Sunday for most areas (bar some further showers and storms).
My recommendation is to be ready for wind gusts up to 110km/h, however gusts are more likely to only briefly hit 90-100km/h for coastal areas. This may cause damage to crops, frail trees, old structures and boats on the water.
Be ready for a boatload of rainfall. There is expected to be a considerable amount of shower and storm activity in this storm, and due to its slow-ish motion there could be widespread totals on Thursday night, Friday and Saturday around 200-250mm along the northern Cassowary Coast, Cairns region and Daintree Coast. A few traditionally wetter locations in the Daintree may pick up as much as 400+mm before the weekend is over, most of it falling in a short spate of time. Subsequently, minor flooding is likely along numerous rivers, such as the upper Herbert, Tully and Daintree. Moderate and Major flooding are possibilities, but at this stage still pretty uncertain and depend heavily on where the low tracks, so as such difficult to forecast.
Make sure you are ready for road closures, minor inconveniences and some wet and windy weather. For the most part this is not a major system worth panicking over, but you should still remain prepared and in the know especially if you are rural, as storms like this can be somewhat significant even though their winds are weak. Never underestimate the rainfall potential for a Far North Queensland tropical low, either.
I'll have further updates and videos as the storm crosses the coast, so any questions shoot them my way. I hope this puts a lot of people at ease with this system. Cheers, Josh.
