Warnings of dangerous surf conditions as tropical low tracks across Far North Queensland
A man has been seriously injured in a surfing accident as The Bureau of Meteorology warns of dangerous surf conditions for South East Queensland.
QLD weather news
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD weather news. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A man has been rushed to hospital after a surfing accident on the Gold Coast as a dangerous swell builds off southeast Queensland.
The man, aged in his mid 30s, suffered what the Queensland Ambulance Service described as a ‘serious head injury’ in the surf at Tugun Beach about 9.45am on Thursday.
He was taken by ambulance to Gold Coast University Hospital with a critical care paramedic on board.
A QAS spokesman said the man had also suffered neck injuries but was in a stable condition.
A tropical low in North Queensland could dampen New Year’s Eve celebrations with “dangerous conditions” forecast for South East Queensland beaches over the weekend.
On Thursday morning, BOM meteorologist Peter Clarkson said the tropical low was lying “just offshore of Cairns” after moving across the Peninsula overnight.
Heavy falls were recorded on the Cassowary Coast, where South Mission Beach received 147mm between 9am Wednesday and 7am Thursday, while 137mm fell at Diwan and 135mm at Daintree Village.
After receiving 235mm in the previous 24 hours, Kowanyama recorded another 110mm yesterday
Mr Clarkson said marine wind warnings for “gale force winds” were in place for waters from the Peninsula down to the Capricornia for Thursday.
But offshore winds of around 60kmh will “pick up the swell” across South East Queensland and Gold Coast waters from Friday.
“We could see dangerous conditions develop for beaches across the southeast with three-metre swells by the weekend and three and a half metres by Sunday,” he said.
He said gale force winds are “equivalent to a category one cyclone in terms of speed” and could result in “big and potentially dangerous conditions” for South East Queensland beaches over the weekend.
“We might need to issue a hazardous surf warning depending on the pattern of this tropical low.”
He said the tropical low was tracking southeast to the Coral Sea over the next few days but there was only a 5-20 per cent chance it will develop into a tropical cyclone.
“It’s not the right environment for this system to develop over the water,” he said.
It’s a disaster: Damning report exposes how system let Qld down
Jaw-dropping tales of failures in disaster communications – including one in which a stranded group had to phone relatives in Scotland for help – have been laid bare.
‘Too slow, no data’: Major BOM failures exposed
Qld residents were forced to rely on amateur storm chasers instead of the weather bureau which failed to predict and alert the state during natural disasters, a new report has revealed.