This is the sting in Alfred’s tail. These storms are drawing down very warm, moist air from the Coral Sea in the north. If you happen to be under one of these slow-moving thunderstorms, they are getting ready to dump a lot of rain. The situation is very volatile, as the atmosphere is very unstable.

Significant damage and power outages are possible in the densely populated region of Queensland, where tropical cyclones impacts are not uncommon but direct landfalls are.

A slow-moving tropical storm crossed islands off Australia’s heavily populated eastern coast late Friday, lashing coastal suburbs with destructive winds and dumping heavy rain across the region.

A rare tropical cyclone weakened to a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, the country's third most populous city. Before being downgraded, Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast since 1974.