Warm wait for former Cyclone Iris’s next move
EX- TROPICAL Cyclone Iris is fighting for her third life as she gains strength moving up the Coral Sea.
The Bureau of Meteorology warns there is now a moderate chance the system will redevelop into a cyclone.
The latest outlook issued yesterday indicated a 20 per cent to 50 per cent chance of Iris strengthening into a tropical cyclone on Thursday.
Forecaster Lauren Pattie said extropical cyclone Iris was currently sitting 980km east of Cooktown.
“She’s been on a long tour of the Coral Sea,” Ms Pattie said.
“At the moment she is well offshore.”
As Iris gains strength, her direction may change once again. “We are expecting her to move north towards Papua New Guinea in the next few days,” Ms Pattie said.
“Towards the latter part of the week it may start to move a little further west.”
Townsville can expect to stay reasonably dry today but showers may slightly increase by tomorrow.
“There are a few little showers offshore,” Ms Pattie said.
“It’s a pretty benign weather pattern up there ( Townsville region) at the moment.”
Temperatures will reach around 30C to 31C, above the April maximum of 29.7C.
“It’s a bit warmer than average for this time of year,” Ms Pattie said.