Tropical Cyclone Ului continues to track towards the Queensland coast and on current predictions is expected to hit land on Sunday morning between the north Queensland communities of Cardwell and Mackay.
At 4am (AEST) on Friday the category three cyclone was 1020 kilometres northwest of Mackay, moving southwest at 12km/h, said Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecaster Tony Auden.
"We're expecting it to start to take a turn towards the southwest today and increase its speed over the next couple of days," Mr Auden said.
As always with cyclones, its actual path to the coast remains unpredictable and a Cyclone Watch remains for the coast and adjacent inland areas between Cardwell and Yeppoon.
BOM forecasts damaging winds to develop between Cardwell and Yeppoon during Saturday, and increase further on Saturday night as the cyclone approaches the coast.
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Seas and swell are expected to increase along much of the Queensland east coast and dangerous surf conditions are expected to develop at exposed beaches south of the cyclone later on Friday. BOM has issued a severe weather warning for these conditions, with gale force winds expected from Cardwell to Burnett Heads.
A strong wind warning covers the coast from Cape Melville to Cardwell, and from Sandy Cape to Cape Moreton, including Hervey Bay.
