Hazard guides · Cyclone season
Queensland cyclone season: warnings, categories and alerts
Quick answer
Queensland's tropical cyclone season officially runs from 1 November to 30 April, and cyclones can form outside those dates. Official cyclone warnings appear on the Queensland Government's current warnings page with their own level and warning area. Hazards QLD shows those warnings on a map and in a list, and sends an alert when one covers a place you watch under Severe weather.
Queensland Government current warnings · Get Ready Queensland: cyclone and storm surge
Who to call
Official sources Hazards QLD shows
- Queensland Government severe weather, flood and cyclone warnings: The state's official warnings service. Hazards QLD keeps each warning's own level, wording and warning area.
- Queensland Emergency Alerts: Official emergency messages for Queensland communities, shown with a link back to the message.
- QLDTraffic: Road closures and flooded roads during and after a cyclone.
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How to watch a place and get alerts
- Open the Watch zones tab and tap Add a location.
- Use your current location or search for a Queensland address, then choose a radius.
- Under Alert levels by hazard type, set Severe weather. Emergency Warning stays enabled; Watch and Act starts on and Advice starts off, and you can change both.
- Allow notifications when the app asks.
- In the Hazards list, tap the Severe Weather filter to see current cyclone warnings.
- After a cyclone passes, turn on the Power outages and Traffic layers to see outages and road closures near your saved places.
Cyclone categories
Cyclones are rated in five categories by their strongest wind gusts. Category 1 brings gales below 125 km/h and Category 2 brings destructive winds of 126 to 164 km/h. Categories 3, 4 and 5 are severe tropical cyclones, with very destructive winds from 165 km/h and extremely destructive winds above 280 km/h at Category 5.
Get Ready Queensland describes the typical damage at each category, from minor house damage at Category 2 to widespread destruction at Category 5.
Who is most exposed
Get Ready Queensland names communities within 50 kilometres of the coast from Bundaberg to Thursday Island, including the Gulf of Carpentaria, as the most exposed to cyclones. Heavy rain and flooding from a weakening cyclone or tropical low can reach every part of Queensland, so inland places are worth watching too.
Storm surge and storm tide
A storm surge is a rise in sea level along the shore, driven by a cyclone's onshore winds and low pressure. A storm tide combines that surge with the normal tide, and the worst impacts come when the surge arrives on a high tide. Coastal communities should follow official evacuation directions straight away.
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Where to find official emergency directions
- For current official warnings and what to do, check the Queensland Government's warnings page. Queensland Government current warnings
- Get Ready Queensland has cyclone checklists and storm tide information for households. Get Ready Queensland: cyclone and storm surge
- For storm or cyclone damage help in a non-life-threatening situation, call the SES on 132 500.
- Emergency services can also send Emergency Alert messages straight to phones in an affected area, whichever apps you use.
- In a life-threatening emergency, call Triple Zero (000) and follow the directions of emergency services.
Questions
When is cyclone season in Queensland?
Queensland's cyclone season officially runs from 1 November to 30 April. Cyclones can still form outside those dates, so households in exposed areas prepare all year.
Does Hazards QLD show cyclone warnings?
Yes. Cyclone warnings published through the Queensland Government's warnings service appear on the map and in the Hazards list under Severe Weather, with the official level, wording and a link to the original warning.
What do the cyclone categories mean?
Cyclones are rated from Category 1 (gales below 125 km/h) to Category 5 (extremely destructive winds above 280 km/h). Categories 3 to 5 are severe tropical cyclones.
Will I get an alert when a cyclone warning covers my place?
Save the place as a watch zone and choose your Severe weather alert levels. Emergency Warning stays enabled. Delivery can still be delayed or missed, so keep checking official warnings as a cyclone approaches.
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