The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that another cyclone may strike the Queensland coast just over three weeks after Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle devastated the region. Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila, currently a category 3 system, is circling in the Solomon Sea and could make landfall over the weekend.
As of Monday morning, Maila was located about 590 kilometres west of Honiara in the Solomon Islands, producing wind gusts of up to 185 kilometres per hour and sustained winds of 130 km/h. The storm has been moving in circles between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands but is expected to turn south-west midweek and head towards the Queensland coast.
Meteorologist Helen Reid said the most likely scenario is that Maila will cross the coast at Cape York at the weekend, but cautioned that forecasts remain uncertain. The storm could change direction, potentially hitting more populated areas such as Cairns or Townsville, or miss the coast entirely. Reid noted that Maila could strengthen to a category 4 system before weakening back to category 3, and may cross the coast as a severe cyclone with sustained winds of 160 to 199 km/h.
Narelle, the season's strongest storm so far, made landfall in Cape York on 20 March as a category 4 system, causing significant damage. It later struck the Northern Territory and Western Australia, becoming the first cyclone to make landfall three times in 21 years. Reid attributed the potential strength of Maila to the warm seas left by Narelle, which have not had time to cool. The last April cyclone to cross Queensland's coast was Severe Tropical Cyclone Ita in 2014.
