Up to 300mm of rain could fall daily until storm makes landfall at the weekend

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Police are warning people in southern Queensland to stay out of the surf as Cyclone Oma brings damaging winds, hazardous surf conditions and abnormally high tides.

While the cyclone is not expected to make landfall until the weekend, beach swells are already building and high winds are expected to significantly increase from Thursday night.

The longer it stays offshore, the greater the potential damage to beaches as waves of up to six metres pound the shoreline.

Some coastal areas could be lashed by 90km/h winds and daily rainfall totals of up to 300mm if the cyclone continues its current path.

The water police sergeant Jay Bairstow warned people south of Yeppoon to the New South Wales border to stay out of the water.

“We would like people to just not be on the water, and for the next five days not go out on their boats for their safety,” he told the Brisbane Times

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“We are expecting to see extremely dangerous conditions on the water and we are urging everyone to make smart decisions and stay safe.”

Cyclone Oma has weakened to a category two storm as it continues to move towards the south-east Queensland coast, bringing damaging winds and heavy rainfall.

Oma was located less than 1000km northeast of Brisbane at 1600 AEST on Wednesday, tracking slowly towards Queensland at about 10km/h.

It briefly intensified to a category three system on Tuesday night but weakened again to a category two storm on Wednesday morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Adam Blazak said there was still some disagreement about which path the storm would take, but that there was a possibility it could make landfall on the weekend.

Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) Latest track map for #CycloneOma, currently a Category 2 system approaching the #Queensland coast. Abnormally high tides, dangerous surf and strengthening winds are expected for coastal areas with heavy rainfall possible from Saturday: https://t.co/KwhEdzKd8H pic.twitter.com/Flyk8Zb9IM

“A crossing is not certain yet, and there are scenarios where it may linger off the coast,” he said.

Blazak said the weather system was already bringing hazardous surf conditions and abnormally high tides. It has increased king tides on the Gold Coast by 15cm and Sunshine Coast tidal heights by 10-15cm.

Some coastal areas could receive daily rainfall totals of up to 300mm if the cyclone continues its current path.

Blazak said it could also potentially bring much-needed rain to drought-affected inland areas of the south-east corner.

“You don’t really want a crossing,” he said. “But that would be maybe a better scenario than if it lingers off the coast. It would end up decaying and dropping rainfall in those dry areas.”

A severe weather warning remains in place from the Fraser Coast to the NSW border.