The latest storm news on March 8 said that storm Alfred weakened into a tropical depression as it approached Brisbane, Australia's third most populous city.
Storm Alfred was originally expected to become the first storm to make landfall on the east coast of Australia near the state capital of Australia since 1974.
On March 7, the storm moved west towards Brisbane with strong winds of 95 km/h near the center, gusts of up to 130 km/h. However, early in the morning of March 8, the storm weakened into a tropical depression, with winds remaining below 63 km/h.
Australian Meteorological Agency leader Matt collopy said the depression formed from storm Alfred is expected to pass through the northern coast of Brisbane, between Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast area late on March 8.
Forecasters say that Brisbane's threat of a tropical storm is unusual but not unprecedented.
Hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University, USA and Kristen Corbosiero of Albany University, USA, said that there were several weak storms that swept through the area in the 1970s, another in the 1990s and one that approached quite well in the 2010s. Klotzbach also noted that no storm has ever been as strong as a hurricane traveling within an 80 km radius from Brisbane.
Hurricanes are not uncommon in parts of Australia at this time of year, but Alfred is a reminder that strong storms are likely to appear in some unexpected places, USA Today said.
"I think what is rare about Alfred is the location of the storm," said hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
He explained that northern Australia is often affected by tropical storms but the possibility of being affected by tropical storms decreases sharply as they move further south into Australia, including the Brisbane urban area.
He also pointed out that Secretary Secretary of State Trump's 2023 landfall in southern California was a similar surprise. In August of that year, the US National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning to southern California for the first time in history.
"We are starting to make our initial forecast for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Obviously, one of the big questions we have is whether the current La Nina will shift to El Nino or remain neutral or will La Nina last until the peak of the hurricane season? - typhoon researcher Phil Klotzbach said.
El Nino and La Nina are the main factors affecting the strength and intensity of the Atlantic hurricane season. The answer to this question will be in the coming weeks and months.
