Bureau of Meteorology says Cyclone Stan ‘likely’ for Christmas

THE weather bureau is predicting a very hot Christmas Day for Victoria and a high chance of a cyclone in Queensland.

WHILE Queenslanders wait to see if Christmas Day will bring a cyclone, Victorians will be hit with a sweltering day, sparking concerns of more bushfires.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Stephen King said the southern state will reach temperatures between 32 and 37 degrees. While that may not be as hot as last weekend, when catastrophic bushfires raged through the North East, strong northerly winds will again make it difficult for firefighters if a blaze is sparked.

Decent rainfall on Boxing Day however will give the state some respite and ease fire fears.

Mr King said December weather was unpredictable, with temperatures only reaching 23 degrees last year. In 2006, it was only 14.5 degrees and snow fell on Victorian mountain ranges.

In Queensland, weather bureau is predicting a very wet Christmas for Australia’s far north with a high chance of a tropical cyclone.

Forecasters said a slow-moving monsoon trough near the Gulf of Carpentaria won’t get close to forming into a cyclone until at least Wednesday.

The chance of a tropical cyclone in the Northern Region is over 50 per cent and, if it does form, it will be called Cyclone Stan.

A low pressure system is developing in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Picture: Bureau of Meteorology

The Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Dean Narramore says the low pressure system is still over land and yet to move over water, where it’s more likely to form into a cyclone.

“It’s taking its time, so we’re nowhere near cyclone status and probably won’t be for a while yet,” he told AAP.

“Better chances are mid and late week for any cyclone development.”

He said there was a high chance a cyclone could form between Wednesday and Christmas.

The system would likely track southeast towards the Western Cape York Peninsula or the southern shore of the Gulf.

The weather bureau has urged those living in the Western Cape and southern Gulf to prepare their cyclone plans.

An image taken from ABC documentary Blown Away of the Northern Territory after Cyclone Tracy.

Should Stan arrive in time for Christmas it would be the first to hit Queensland since Cyclone Raquel landed, unusually, in July.

Though the potential cyclone has not been graded, it’s expected to be significantly less powerful than Cyclone Tracy, the cyclone that devastated the Northern Territory over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1974.

Cyclone Stan is unlikely to hit highly populated areas.

The BoM’s seasonal outlook for cyclone activity in the Coral Sea, off north Queensland, has predicted “a less active than average season”.

Meanwhile the Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Mick Logan told news.com.au Friday would be pleasantly mild throughout New South Wales.

“The average temperature for Christmas Day is 25.6 and we’re forecasting a temperature of 25 degrees,” he said.

South Australia has seen some relief from its record-breaking heatwave but temperatures are tipped to rise again, with a top of 37 degrees predicted for Christmas Day.

In Perth, a rain-free sunny day should bring a top of 27 degrees, down five degrees from last year’s balmy 32 degree Christmas.

Other parts of Western Australia are also expected to be slightly below average in terms of temperature, with Broome expected to hit 34 degrees.