Summer might be ending but Far North and North Queensland is heading back into classic wet‑season territory, with the region’s recent run of sunshine looking short‑lived.
A monsoon trough is expected to form north of Cairns, dragging in deep tropical moisture and setting up a humid, storm‑laden weekend across the Far North. The Bureau of Meteorology says a tropical low is brewing in the Coral Sea, but the chance of it strengthening into a cyclone remains low at around five to ten per cent.
BOM Senior Meteorologist Shane Kennedy says conditions will shift noticeably from Sunday, with widespread showers and thunderstorms likely to build as the trough settles in offshore. That developing tropical low will feed even more moisture onto the coast, keeping humidity high and increasing the risk of heavy, fast‑moving storms, particularly north of Cairns.
Despite a couple of bright, sunny days, the wet season is far from over. Another burst of rain is expected to dampen weekend plans in Cairns and Townsville and forecasters warn that more storms and heavy falls are likely as we head into March, with the possibility of another tropical low forming in late April.
