Wild winds whip up Qld coastline

A low pressure system has caused seas to reach five metres off the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. - AAP

Strong winds and high seas are battering the Queensland coastline this morning.

The weather bureau has issued a gale warning from Cairns in the state's far north, to Saint Lawrence - approximately 155km south of Mackay - with gusts up to 75 kilometres an hour and heavy rain expected.

Winds of up to 50 kilometres an hour are blowing along most of south-east coast.

A low pressure system has caused seas to reach five metres off the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

But weather bureau spokesman Brian Rolstone says the weather is worst in north Queensland.

"Once you get north of Double Island Point, it's strong winds and then further north of Gladstone, it's gale force - so the weather just gets worse as you go north," he said.

"But most of the coast is being subjected to fairly high swell and it's probably strongest in the south-east there.

"Up towards Mackay, they'll get the heaviest rainfall and the strongest winds," he said.

"The winds will be getting up to 40 knots or 80 kilometres an hour, and they'll get the heaviest rain as well maybe some falls up around 100 millimetres.

"But everywhere else will be lighter from there."

The Whitsunday SES is bracing for an influx of calls with extreme weather forecast to hit the region today.

Many commercial fishing boats have returned to shore along the coast.

Charlie Brownlow, from Mackay's Volunteer Marine Rescue Service, says he hopes recreational boaties stay off the water as well.

"Stay at home and do some maintenance on your boat for when the good weather returns," he said.

"It would be most unpleasant out there - the seas have been predicted to rise to three to four metres and rain is predicted as well,

"So it wouldn't be very pleasant out there at all."

Banana farmers in Queensland's far north are bracing themselves and their trees ahead of expected gale force winds later today.

Farmer Mark Nucifora says he will pick as much of his fruit as he can this morning and tie his trees down before the winds pick up.

"It could definitely mean trees down around the plantation, especially with all the wet weather we've had over the last week and a half," he said.

"[It] means the ground is fairly wet and sodden and it could mean a whole tree, with it's follow-on and root system, tips over."

Meanwhile, last night's heavy rain and strong winds caused a tree to fall on a house in north Queensland.

A north Queensland couple escaped unharmed when a large tree fell on their house at Strathdickie near Proserpine early this morning.

The strong wind felled the three-metre tree just after midnight AEST through the roof and causing significant damage to the laundry.

Mark Connors from the Whitsunday State Emergency Service says luckily no one was injured.

"They got an awful fright though because it actually smashed a number of large holes through the roof," he said.

"The tree was large enough - it sort of went from one side of the roof to the other but they were very lucky - did a lot of damage though."

Mr Conner expects that will be the first of many incidents in the area.

"After this morning I'm quite concerned," he said.

"I think unfortunately we're going to get more of this - we're talking 40 knot winds and that's a lot of wind, now that we've had a fair bit of rain as well."

- ABC

© ABC 2008

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