BRITTANY Chapman and her border collie Django enjoy the warm weather on The Strand yesterday. Meteorologists are predicting an increased risk of heatwaves, bushfires and cyclones in the coming summer months.
NORTH Queenslanders can expect an increased risk of heatwaves and bushfires and at least one potentially devastating cyclone this summer, the weather bureau has warned.
The Bureau of Meteorology delivered its 2017- 18 summer outlook yesterday, with state manager Victoria Dodds saying Queensland was no stranger to severe weather.
“We’re expecting above average temperatures for more northern parts of the state and this brings with it an increased risk of heatwaves,” she said.
“It’s been really dry and as a result of this we have seen a very early and active start to the bushfire season. Where it continues to be dry, and this may well increase risk over the next few months, then that bushfire risk will continue.”
It comes after bushfires broke out across Townsville on Sunday – in some cases threatening homes – in what firefighters said was the first taste of an extreme fire season.
The Bureau of Meteorology also expects a typical season for tropical cyclones and thunderstorms, with little to no widespread flooding expected.
“The next few months is typically the peak in the severe storm season but we can certainly see severe storms hap- pening right throughout the e year,” Ms Dodds said.
“As far as flooding is concerned, we’re not expecting widespread flooding this year, but it’s certainly not called the wet season for no reason.”
Ms Dodds said 10 to 13 tropical cyclones were expected to form in Australian waters this season, with one potentially impacting Queensland.
“It’s that one tropical storm, as we saw with Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie, that can cause major disruption and devastation for a community, so we can never be complacent,” she said.
BoM Queensland weather services manager Richard Wardle said bushfires and heatwaves were more likely than flooding because the ground was dry.
“If we go back through historical records, every summer thereth hash beenb flooding somewhere in Queensland,” he said.
“Quite often that flooding is associated with a tropical cyclone or an ex- tropical cyclone.”
Mr Wardle said cyclone tracking science allowed meteorologists to predict the number of cyclones with accuracy, but not their severity or location. “The science isn’t at that stage yet,” he said.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said now was the time for communities to prepare for severe weather.
“We never can predict the exact timing of cyclones or the exact impact, and what we saw from Tropical Cyclone Debbie was an absolutely huge impact across our state,” she said.
The cyclone caused more than $ 2 billion in damage.
DISASTER PLANNING getready.qld.gov.au
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