Your most pressing Tropical Cyclone Alfred Toowoomba questions answered

When is TC Alfred (or what’s left of it) reaching Toowoomba? What is open today? Here are your most pressing cyclone questions answered:

As the emergency situation relating to Tropical Cyclone Alfred continues to evolve, residents have plenty of questions about what to prepare for, when the worst will hit and what they can expect.

Here are your queries answered about how Toowoomba will be impacted by what’s left of TC Alfred:

When is Tropical Cyclone Alfred expected to make landfall?

As of Friday morning, current modelling has the system crossing the Queensland coast in the early hours of Saturday morning.

For the latest coverage for the whole of Queensland, head to this story.

Where will it cross?

Alfred is expected to make landfall around the southern end of Bribie Island and Sandstone Point, just north of Brisbane in the direction of Redcliffe.

Where is Alfred now?

The system is located 195km east of Brisbane and 180km northeast of Gold Coast moving at 3km/h, which is slower than the 10km/h recorded on Thursday.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred nears Queensland coast

What category will Alfred be when it makes landfall?

Some say it could remain a category 2 as it crosses the coast, while others say it could weaken to a category 1.

What areas will be impacted?

The following regions are listed in the weather bureau’s warning zones: Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales, including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina.

The northern Toowoomba region and South Burnett is in the path of the remnants of Alfred once it crosses the land.

How long could the crossing last?

Alfred’s crossing could last three, six or even nine hours once it makes landfall.

What will Alfred be when it reaches Toowoomba?

Meteorologists say Alfred will have most likely devolved to a tropical low system by the time it hits the Toowoomba region — which is not to say it won’t come with dangers.

Tropical lows can bring huge rainfalls and potentially damaging winds.

According to the Toowoomba council’s disaster dashboard, the region is on an “advice” cyclone alert.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred latest tracking map issued at 5am on Friday, March 7.

When will the system reach the Garden City?

Despite the slowing of Alfred off the coast, the most intense conditions are still expected to hit Toowoomba on Saturday afternoon until potentially the early hours of Sunday.

What rainfall/weather impacts can we expect?

The Bureau of Meteorology says there is a 95 per cent chance of rain in Toowoomba on Friday, with heavy falls and even some thunderstorms predicted.

This will continue into Saturday, where there is a chance of as much as 120mm falling on the Garden City.

Sunday should also see significant rain up to 80mm, again heightening the risk of flooding throughout the city.

Rainfall from Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Image: windy.com

Where could it flood in Toowoomba?

We have prepared a full list of floodprone areas for the Garden City, which you can check out here.

Where can I grab sandbags?

The State Emergency Service says there are still 4000 sandbags at the Toowoomba Showgrounds, with more pallets delivered early on Friday morning.

There are seven sandbagging stations across the region — you can find them on the council’s Disaster Dashboard.

Adrian Cann as SES Toowoomba prepare for the arrival of the weather system associated with TC Alfred, Thursday, March 6, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Will there be power outages?

Ergon Energy and emergency services have told southeast Queensland residents to expect widespread outages, potentially lasting several days.

33,000 properties are without power across the southeast so far, mainly centred around the Gold Coast.

Head to the Ergon Energy site for the latest updates.

Will I need to boil water?

It’s possible, but the Toowoomba Regional Council says it has installed generators at all its reservoirs and at the treatment facility at Mount Kynoch should power be cut to the system.

Dirty water can be side-effect of flooding events, so if this occurs ring the council’s water and waste team on 131 872.

Are supermarkets open?

As of Friday morning, all Coles and Woolworths supermarkets are listed as open, but authorities have urged residents not to make unnecessary trips as the tropical low approaches.

Are shops open?

Many vendors inside Toowoomba’s Grand Central shopping centre are choosing to temporarily close in preparation of the weekend’s weather, including multiple clothing stores, beauty and health stores, Telstra and Heritage Bank.

Before venturing out, shoppers are encouraged to check with each individual store whether or not they are open over the weekend and to avoid any unsafe travel.

At this stage, Grand Central will remain open pending any safety concerns and advises customers to keep up to date via their Facebook page or on [phone].

Many stores inside Toowoomba's Grand Central Shopping Centre have chosen to close in preparation for the weekend's weather.

Are the airports open?

Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport is remaining open and has been on standby to take flights intended for Brisbane or the Gold Coast, given both are now shut due to the cyclone.