"We warned at the start of ZetaTalk, in 1995, thatunpredictable weather extremes, switching about from drought to deluge,would occur and increase on a lineal basis up until the pole shift. Where this occurred steadily, it has only recently become undeniable. ZetaTalk, and only ZetaTalk, warned of these weather changes, at that early date. Our early warnings spoke to the issue of global heating from the core outward, hardly Global Warming, a surface or atmospheric issue, but caused by consternation in the core. Affected by the approach of Planet X, which was by then starting to zoom rapidly toward the inner solar system for its periodic passage, the core was churning, melting the permafrost and glaciers and riling up volcanoes. When the passage did not occur as expected in 2003 because Planet X had stalled in the inner solar system, we explained the increasing weather irregularities in the context of the global wobble that had ensued - weather wobbles where the Earth is suddenly forced under air masses, churning them. This evolved by 2005 into a looping jet stream, loops breaking away and turning like a tornado to affect the air masses underneath. Meanwhile, on Planet Earth, droughts had become more intractable and deluges positively frightening, temperature swings bringing snow in summer in the tropics and searing heat in Artic regions, with the violence of storms increasing in number and ferocity."
The wobble seems to have changed, as the temperature in Europe suddenly plunged after being like an early Spring, Alaska has its coldest temps ever while the US and much of Canada is having an extremely mild winter. India went from fatal cold spell to balmy again. Has the Earth changed position vs a vs Planet X to cause this?[and from another]Bitter cold records broken in Alaska - all time coldest record nearly broken, but Murphy's Law intervenes[Jan 30]http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/01/30/bitter-cold-records-broken-in-alaskaJim River, AK closed in on the all time record coldest temperature of -80°F set in 1971, which is not only the Alaska all-time record, but the record for the entire United States. Unfortunately, it seems the battery died in the weather station just at the critical moment. While the continental USA has a mild winter and has set a number of high temperature records in the last week and pundits ponder whether they will be blaming the dreaded "global warming" for those temperatures, Alaska and Canada have been suffering through some of the coldest temperatures on record during the last week.
There has been no change in the wobble pattern, the wobble has merely become more severe. Nancy noted a Figure 8 format when the Earth wobble first became noticeable, in early 2005, after Planet X moved into the inner solar system at the end of 2003. The Figure 8 shifted along to the east a bit on the globe between 2005 and 2009, (the last time Nancy took its measure) as Planet X came closer to the Earth, encountering the magnetic N Pole with a violent push earlier in the day. But the pattern of the Figure 8 remained essentially the same. So what changed recently that the weather patterns became noticeably different in late January, 2012?
The N Pole is pushed away when it comes over the horizon, when the noon Sun is centered over the Pacific. This regularly puts Alaska under colder air, with less sunlight, and thus the historically low temps there this January, 2012 as the wobble has gotten stronger. But by the time the Sun is positioned over India, the N Pole has swung during the Figure 8 so the globe tilts, and this tilt is visible in the weather maps from Asia. The tilt has forced the globe under the hot air closer to the Equator, warming the land along a discernable tilt demarcation line.
The next loop of the Figure 8 swings the globe so that the N Pole moves in the other direction, putting the globe again at a tilt but this time in the other direction. This tilt is discernable in weather maps of Europe, again along a diagonal line. Depending upon air pressure and temperature differences, the weather on either side of this diagonal line may be suddenly warm or suddenly cold. The tilt and diagonal line lingers to affect much of the US and Canada, but the Figure 8 changes at this point to be an up and down motion, pulling the geographic N Pole south so the US is experiencing a warmer than expected winter under a stronger Sun. Then the cycle repeats, with the magnetic N Pole of Earth pushed violently away again as the Sun is positioned over the Pacific.
Would the Zetas be able to let us know what is causing the early break-up of the Arctic Ice, the ice seems to have taken on a swirling pattern at the same time, would this be wobble related?[and from another]http://www.vancouversun.com/news/national/Canada+Arctic+cracks+spec... The ice in Canada’s western Arctic ripped open in a massive “fracturing event” this spring that spread like a wave across 1,000 kilometres of the Beaufort Sea. Huge leads of water – some more than 500 kilometres long and as much as 70 kilometres across – opened up from Alaska to Canada’s Arctic islands as the massive ice sheet cracked as it was pushed around by strong winds and currents. It took just seven days for the fractures to progress across the entire area from west to east.[and from another]http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80752&src=iot... A high-pressure weather system was parked over the region, producing warmer temperatures and winds that flowed in a southwesterly direction. That fueled the Beaufort Gyre, a wind-driven ocean current that flows clockwise. The gyre was the key force pulling pieces of ice west past Point Barrow, the northern nub of Alaska that protrudes into the Beaufort Sea.
The Figure 8 formed by the N Pole during the daily Earth wobble has shifted somewhat to the East, due to Planet X positioned more to the right of the Earth during its approach. This was anticipated, and well described in ZetaTalk, the Earth crowding to the left in the cup to escape the approach of Planet X, so the angle between these two planets would change slightly. This shift of the Figure 8 to the East is due to the push against the Earth’s magnetic N Pole occurring sooner each day than prior. Thus instead of occurring when the Sun is high over the Pacific, over New Zealand, it is now occurring when the Sun is high over Alaska. All the wobble points have shifted eastward accordingly.
This has brought a lingering Winter to the western US, and a changed sloshing pattern to the Arctic waters. Instead of Pacific waters being pushed through the Bering Straits into the Arctic when the polar push occurs, the wobble is swinging the Arctic to the right, and then later to the left, creating a circular motion in the waters trapped in the Arctic. Since the Earth rotates counterclockwise, the motion also takes this path. This is yet another piece of evidence that the establishment is hard pressed to explain. They are attempting to ascribe this to high pressure and wind, all of which are not new to the Arctic, but this circular early breakup of ice in the Arctic is new.
'I've never seen anything like it': Astonishing footage shows truck drivers passing through NSW floodwaters as abandoned cars and caravans float past
Footage has emerged of trucks dodging vehicles abandoned in floodwater
The convoy of trucks were travelling through the Tweed River, New South Wales
Incredible vision posted to Facebook has been viewed more than 300,000 times
In almost every flood there's a handful of motorists who push their luck too far.
And a number of truck drivers braving a raging river have come up nice and close to some cars left abandoned by their seemingly overeager owners.
The 'truckies', who took on the overflowing Tweed River in New South Wales, were forced to dodge a number of waterlogged cars and caravans left floating in the floodwater.
Video of the vehicles taking on the river was posted to popular Facebook page Dash Cam Owners Australia.
Taken last Friday, when the flooded roads were open to large trucks, the drivers were forced to manoeuvre around other vehicles which hadn't fared so well in the water.
Following each other in convoy, the 'truckies' can be heard remarking about the cars which have been abandoned.
'I've never seen anything like this,' one driver said as he passed two vehicles.
Vision has emerged of truck drivers dodging cars and caravans abandoned in the Tweed River, in New South Wales, after it flooded last week
'I've never seen anything like this,' one truck driver said as he passed two abandoned vehicles
Showing how dangerous the floodwaters are, even a large caravan was no match for the rising Tweed River.
Laying alongside it is a small white car, which has seemingly been turned around by the power of the floods.
In the distance another smaller truck also appears to have been washed away into a field by the force of the floods.
The incredible vision of the trucks taking on the floodwater has been viewed close to 328,000 times on Facebook.
Showing how dangerous the floodwaters are, even a large caravan was no match for the river
Reality of the worst drought since 1945 peaking in parts of Africa
17 March, 2017. Millions of people in over a dozen countries in the Horn of Africa and southern Africa are facing the peak effect of severe drought that hit the regions resulting in famine.
Worst among the countries are Somalia, South Sudan, and Nigeria in West Africa who are part of the more than 20 million people estimated by the United Nations to be facing severe famine and starvation in the world.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that Somalia is at risk of its third famine in 25 years after the previous crisis in 2011 that killed about 260,000 people.
The Horn of Africa is facing its third consecutive year of drought causing thirst and hunger, decimating livestock, destroying livelihoods, spreading disease and triggering large scale population movements.
Somalia’s neighbour Kenya is also facing drought in half of the country – 23 of its 47 counties nationwide.
United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien described the crisis to the Security Council as the largest since the second world war in 1945, and an amount of $4.4 billion is needed “to avert a catastrophe” in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula.
For the other drought-ridden countries including Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched an appeal last year for emergency aid estimated at 109 million dollars to cover 23 million people.
Source of the Crisis
The U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien clearly stated after a visit that the famine in South Sudan is man-made due to the three-year civil war in the world’s newest country which is facing a worse situation.
Like South Sudan, the famine in northeastern Nigeria is as a result of the seven-year insurgency of the Islamist sect Boko Haram killing over 20,000 people and with at least 2.6 million people displaced and 5.8 million in dire need of humanitarian aid.
The Horn of Africa countries are facing their third consecutive year of drought.
Ethiopia is experiencing below average rains in the southern and eastern parts of the country caused by the negative Indian Ocean dipole and La Niña leading to drought.
This is a repeat of last year when drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon left 10.2 million people hungry and several hundred thousand of animals killed.
Somalia is also facing the brunt of the climate change coupled with the Islamist group al-Shabaab insurgency which is battling the UN-backed government for over a decade.
According to the U.N., 6.2 million people in Somalia need humanitarian assistance and protection, including 2.9 million who are at risk of famine and require immediate help.
During the previous famine in 2011, humanitarian response was slow and nearly 260,000 people died before the famine was officially declared in July.
For Kenya, the climate change is causing drought which is affecting 23 of its 47 counties in the country.
The ten southern Africa countries (Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are also facing the brunt of the El Niño climate phenomenon. Source: africanews.com
Droughts in East Africa becoming more frequent, more devastating
Somalia declared a famine in 2011 and is facing severe warnings again. Credit: Photo/Stuart Price.
17 March, 2017. If the current drought in the East Africa brings a sense of déjà vu, it’s because we’ve been here before – several times.
This is a region where the global forces of climate change, forced migration, and volatile food supply converge, resulting in severe hunger and, at worst, famine. However, while drought is not new, it has become increasingly frequent.
As the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development notes: “From 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2016 and now 2017, datelines change but the stories of unimaginable hardship, death and depravation remain largely the same.”
As with the frequency, the severity has also intensified. The 2011 East African drought was reportedly the region’s worst for 60 years. But while that crisis affected over 12 million people, today’s has already left an estimated 12.8 million severely food insecure. And things are expected to worsen in the coming months with low rainfall forecast from March to May.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), today’s situation is so widespread because three consecutive years of diminished food production has exhausted people’s capacity to cope with another shock, while access constraints, rising refugee numbers and outbreaks of communicable diseases in the greater region add to the pressures.
Conflict is another key factor as both a driver and result of the drought. It is no coincidence that it is in South Sudan and Somalia – where conflict has led to millions of displacements, made it harder to cultivate land and hampered humanitarian access – that people are in most danger.
This February, South Sudan, which has been at war since 2013, became the first country in six years to declare a famine. UN agencies say 100,000 people there are on the verge of starvation and almost 5 million – more than 40% of the country’s population – are in need of urgent assistance. In Somalia, where 258,000 people died in the world’s previous famine in 2011, further starvation looks like a distinct possibility again.
At the same time, drought has also aggravated existing tensions in places such as the Rift Valley in Kenya where increasingly scarce resources has led to growing violence between pastoralists and farmers. Source: africanarguments.org
For first time in 33 years, March was colder than February in Washington 3 April, 2017. Washingtonians will remember March for a rare, weird and confusing reversal in the usual progression of the seasons: It was colder and more winter-like than it was in February.
Following February’s record-shattering warmth, many believed winter was over. Flowers were in the bloom, and days in the 70s outnumbered those in the 40s.
A record high of 80 degrees on March’s first day only reinforced the notion that winter had caved to spring. Washington’s famed cherry blossoms were on track for their earliest bloom in recorded history.
But the warmth of February and to begin March typified what scientists have called a “false spring,” because — more often than not — the true character of the season eventually reveals itself.
In March’s second week, a sneaky and strong cold snap roared into town, and winter was back in full force. Temperatures plummeted, a cement-like mass of snow and ice poured down, and about half the cherry blossoms perished.
The cold eased in the month’s final third, the cherry blossoms showed off a muted peak, and finally spring was here to stay.
The month closed a full half degree colder than February, marking the first time the months have been reversed since 1984. Since records have been maintained in Washington, dating back to 1872, March has averaged as cold or colder than February just eight times.
What makes this situation even stranger is March’s average temperature was still 0.4 degrees warmer than normal. But February was so mild, 8.7 degrees above normal, that even average temperatures in March would’ve matched it.
March’s average temperature of 47.2 marked the 10th warmer-than-normal month in a row in Washington.
Precipitation (rain and melted snow) totaled 3.19 inches, .29 inches below normal, but represented the wettest single month since last June. The total matches 2007 and is the eighth-driest of the 2000s.
The two inches of mid-month snow amounted to 0.7 inches above normal and marked our snowiest month since February 2016. Baltimore picked up slightly more at 2.3 inches, and Dulles tallied 5.7 inches.
Here is a listing of the March extremes in Washington:
It’s funny to see our warmest day in March being on the first of the month, with the coldest weather being within a week of the start of spring instead. The 0.96 inches of rain we logged on Friday (March 31) marked the single wettest day since Dec. 6. Six “daily” records were broken at our three airports during the month.
March records
March 1: Record high of 80 (tying old record 80 in 1976)
Dulles International Airport
March 14: Daily record snowfall of 4.1 inches (old record 4 inches in 1999)
March 15: Record low maximum temperature of 31 (old record 32 in 1993)
March 25: Record high temperature of 78 (old record 76 in 2003)
March 31: Daily record rainfall of 1.46 inches (old record 0.95 inches in 1976)
BWI
March 15: Record low maximum temperature of 31 (old record 31 in 1993)
California snowpack is one of the biggest ever recorded, and now poses a flooding risk
<...>
30 March, 2017. He plodded across the white mounds, plunged his metallic pole into the powder beneath him, pulled it out and made his proclamation: 94 inches deep.
The 2016-17 winter created one of the largest snowpacks in California’s recorded history and it’s loaded with enough water to keep reservoirs and rivers swollen for months to come.
“For recreation, there’s a lot of pent-up demand for spring touring,” Gehrke told reporters and viewers watching on a social media live stream. “Clearly this is going to be a good year for it. People have to be aware that conditions are different and they can’t expect the same conditions they had a couple years ago.”
With reservoirs and rivers already full from months of rain, the addition of melting snow will likely push water over the banks in some communities and cause flooding, said David Rizzardo, chief of snow survey and water supply forecasting for the state Department of Water Resources. <...> This year’s snowpack is the seventh-deepest since 1950 and biggest since 2011, said state hydrologist Mike Anderson.
When Gehrke stood at that same spot in Phillips in 2015, it was a bare field of dirt, grass and weeds.
“The difference is visually stunning, but it’s the pattern of West Coast weather,” Gehrke said. “The winter weather in California is feast or famine. We have very dry years followed by extremely wet years.” <...> The governor declared a state of emergency and instituted strict water use restrictions that remain in place for some people today.
But with all of that snow piled in the Sierra this year — it equates to more than 46 inches of rain when it melts — many water agencies up and down the state argue that it’s time to declare the drought over and lift those restrictions. California has been inundated with more than 30 atmospheric river events — warm, Pacific-based storms that drop massive amounts of rain — since October and is on track for one of its rainiest water years (measured from Oct. 1 — Sept. 30) in history. <..> Source: latimes.com
March madness: Last month was colder and snowier than usual (Nova Scotia, US)
3 April, 2017. 98.8 centimetres of snow fell at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport last month
March turns messy with snow, ice and freezing rain on the way Messy March nor'easter to bring snow, slush and rain Tuesday Have the impression that this past March was colder and featured more of the white stuff than usual? You'd be right!
Most weather observation stations finished the month with mean daily temperatures well below climate normals and snowfall amounts well above. Source: cbc.ca
Newfoundland Blizzard Brings In Record Amounts Of Snow
The first day of spring was two weeks ago, but winter is far from over in Newfoundland.
A powerful storm swept across the province this week, and another 75 centimetres of snow is expected by Tuesday evening. Over 97 centimetres was dumped on Gander over the weekend. To put that number in context, Toronto saw 81 centimetres of snow over the entire winter, according to The Weather Network.
Gander broke the snowfall record for March with a total of 200 centimetres, and is on track to break April's previous record of 97 centimetres, VOCM reported.
People trying to get to work have faced some unique challenges.
Flights have been cancelled at the St. John's airport, and many highways are nearly impassible. In Gander, a snow plow and ambulance got stuck in the snow, CBC News reported.
Damaging winds are often called “straight-line” winds to differentiate the damage they cause from tornado damage. Strong thunderstorm winds can come from a number of different processes. Most thunderstorm winds that cause damage at the ground are a result of outflow generated by a thunderstorm downdraft. Damaging winds are classified as those exceeding 50-60 mph.
Are damaging winds really a big deal?
Damage from severe thunderstorm winds account for half of all severe reports in the lower 48 states and is more common than damage from tornadoes. Wind speeds can reach up to 100 mph and can produce a damage path extending for hundreds of miles.
Who is at risk from damaging winds?
Since most thunderstorms produce some straight-line winds as a result of outflow generated by the thunderstorm downdraft, anyone living in thunderstorm-prone areas of the world is at risk for experiencing this hazard.
People living in mobile homes are especially at risk for injury and death. Even anchored mobile homes can be seriously damaged when winds gust over 80 mph.
Another Tornado Record's in Sight for U.S. as Thunderstorms Boom 23 March, 2017. Another wave of tornado-spawning thunderstorms is set to rip across the Great Plains and South this week, putting the U.S. within reach of a record year for life-threatening twisters. Severe storms will drench a swath of the country from Texas to Mississippi over the next five days, according to the U.S. Storm Prediction Center. Through Thursday, 369 tornadoes have been reported across the country, the most in five years and more than double the normal number of sightings.
An active jet stream and unusually balmy weather are to blame for the burst of deadly tornado activity, the storm prediction center said. Strong winds have dragged storms into the warm, humid air that’s blanketed the eastern half of the nation, creating conditions ripe for a weather phenomenon that leads to at least $400 million in damage a year in the U.S.
“We have a severe threat starting today and continuing for each of the next five days through at least Monday,” said Patrick Marsh, warning coordination meteorologist at the storm prediction center in Norman, Oklahoma. “Through mid-March, we are on a record or near-record pace.” <...> Tornado “outbreaks,” or storm systems that spin out multiple funnels in a limited time and area, are becoming more frequent in the U.S., according to study published in the journal Science in December. Still, the trend isn’t consistent from what some models predicted would result from global warming, the study found. This could mean climate change isn’t having an impact on tornado numbers, or it may be because scientists just haven’t figured out what effect it’s having, lead author Michael Tippett, a senior research scientist at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society in Palisades, New York, said in the report. Rising Costs One thing’s for certain: Costs associated with tornado damages are rising as the number of people living in the path of twister-producing storms rises. “Since 1980, losses due to severe thunderstorm events in the U.S., which includes tornadoes, hail and straight-line winds, have increased dramatically largely due to socioeconomic effects,” Mark Bove, a senior research meteorologist for Munich Reinsurance America Inc, said in an email. The system pushing into the central U.S. may create more severe weather as it pushes east, said Bob Oravec, senior branch forecaster with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. “It definitely is going to have the potential for a multi-day event,” Oravec said. And it could just be the first of several such systems, he said. Long-range models show the potential for a train of storms through the central U.S. for the next few week. Source:Source: bloomberg.com
Is the number of tornadoes increasing in US? ZetaTalk Rights Again?
I made this infographic using D3.js. Tornadoes data taken from here: spc.noaa.gov
Comment by jorge namour on March 31, 2017 at 3:40pm
Biblical Floods in Argentina's Patagonia 31/03/2017
India under intense heat wave: Temperatures soaring to abnormal levels well ahead of the summer season: Maharashtra records record 46.5C (114F)
Bhira, a small village in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Tuesday recorded a maximum temperature of 46.5 degrees Celsius as hot and dry winds from Kutch in Gujarat and central India continued to heat up central Maharashtra and Vidarbha. In fact, the whole of India is reeling under intense heat wave with temperatures soaring to abnormal levels well ahead of the summer season. A report in Skymet said that temperature in Bhira town of Mahrashtra's Raigadh district touched a searing 46.5 degrees on Tuesday. Indian Meteorological Department officials expressed doubts over the unusually high temperature given Bhira is located in the Sahayadri region and is surrounded by mountains with thick forests. The agency, however, decided to conduct an inquiry into the matter. The Met said that it recorded 43 degree Celsius on Monday, but on Tuesday, the temperature was not recorded because it happened to be a holiday. The extreme temperature, perhaps the highest in the country, is quite unusual for a place like Bhira that never crosses the 45 degree Celsius mark. Officials from Mumbai will visit the observatory in Bhira on Friday to ascertain the reading. According to official data, Bhira was seven degrees above normal on Tuesday. But, in Less than 24 hours, the maximum temperature dropped to 41 degrees Celsius. The mean temperature in Bhira for the month of March between period of 1961 and 1990 was 39.3 degrees C, data indicates. "This is very unusual, especially since the region is in the Konkan belt. Meteorologists would visit the site on Friday to ascertain the reading. The observatory is a non-departmental observatory that is handled by the government but has a trained official who relays the readings to us," said Sunil Kamble, director in charge, India Meteorological Department, Mumbai. According to Kamble, the observatory is surrounded by three hills and could have seen unusual heating. A probe would reveal if the readings recorded were accurate, he said. "On Wednesday, Bhira's temperature dipped drastically. We suspect that the hot winds on Tuesday afternoon could have raised the temperature. However, considering the wind pattern and all the other factors, we will study the observatory," Kamble added. Bhira houses the third hydropower plant of Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL), set up in 1927. With as many as 13 observatories recording maximum temperature above 40 degrees C, weather forecasters believe the areas will experience a hot summer, with the area hotter by about four degrees. IMD issued a warning of continuing heatwaves at a few isolated places over Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha until Friday. According to the IMD data, Malegaon, Nagpur, Chandrpur and Wardha had all recorded 43 degrees and were among the hottest parts of the state. While Yavatmal and Nanded registered 42 degrees, Parbhani, Aurangabad and Gondia were 41 degrees. All these places are believed to be experiencing moderate heatwave-like conditions. Mumbai had recorded 38.4 degrees Celsius on Monday but the mercury has since continued to drop and the maximum temperature on Wednesday was 33 degrees.
Last year thousands died from the heat in India where cars and roads began to melt from the heat...
Las Vegas dust storm uproots trees, knocks down power lines & delays flights
Roughly 40,000 people in the greater Las Vegas area have been left without power as a massive wind storm damaged power grids, knocked down street poles and trees, and caused major air and traffic disruptions.
High winds are being blamed for multiple scattered power outages affecting some 44,000 NV Energy customers in the Las Vegas area, local media reports.
Images from the gambling capital of the world show power poles damaged in the vicinity of the famed Las Vegas Strip, lined with its world famous casinos. Trees and streetlights have also been uprooted in the storm.
Officials have urged the public to stay indoors until the storm passes. Meanwhile, some people wrote that gusty winds of up to 70 mph overturned furniture in their backyards.
The adverse weather is also causing heavy traffic in the area, where the debris is preventing motorists from driving. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada has issued a warning to motorists to avoid driving due to low visibility and blowing dust on valley roads.
The Northbound Interstate 15 was forced to shut down for about two hours after large lorries rolled over on the road.
High winds also caused flight delays at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, forcing the air hub to temporarily place a brief hold on departures.
At least one person suffered a minor injury when a construction wall collapse inside the Monte Carlo Hotel-Casino, Fox 5 News Vegas reported.
A dust storm warning has been issued until 11 pm local time with a wind range up to 70 mph (110km/h).
Qld's first tropical cyclone in two years is threatening to inflict major damage on the state's north coast.
Tropical cyclone Debbie is expected to slam into Townsville earlier than first forecast, authorities warn.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned winds of up to 100km/h will develop in the city as early as 4pm on Monday based on Cyclone Debbie's current path, Queensland Police says.
The cyclone was originally forecast to make landfall north of Ayr early on Tuesday.
Residents are being told to take precautions and find shelter.
A decision on evacuations will be made at 5am on Monday.
All schools in Townsville will be closed on Monday.
Evacuations began in coastal areas of the Whitsunday region on Sunday afternoon as tropical cyclone Debbie continued to intensify.
The category 2 storm is expected to become a Category 3 later on Sunday and authorities expect it to be a Category 4 when it makes a forecast landfall some time early on Tuesday.
The system, sitting 450km north east of Townsville in the Coral Sea, is expected to track south-west and make landfall somewhere between Townsville and Proserpine.
More than 1000 emergency services staff plus Australian Defence Force personnel are being deployed to the region in anticipation of the storm's arrival.
Bureau of Meteorology deputy regional director Bruce Gunn says Debbie is potentially far more dangerous than the last cyclones to reach land in Queensland.
'Queensland hasn't seen a coastal crossing for a couple of years now since Marcia or Nathan in 2015 but I think you could probably say that Debbie's the most significant tropical cyclone since Yasi,' Mr Gunn said.
'Not so much because of it's intensity ... mostly because of its size and extent. It's quite a sizable system.'
One man died and the damage bill reached $800 million when Category 5 Yasi tore across north Queensland in February 2011.
The Whitsunday Regional Council on Sunday ordered several low-lying coastal areas to evacuate, with a significant storm tide forecast.
'If you are unable to evacuate, the Cyclone Shelters in Bowen and Proserpine will be opened on Monday as a last resort,' Whitsunday mayor Andrew Willcox said.
'The cyclone shelters have capacity for 800 people each and are only available to those people at highest risk from cyclone effects that have no other option.'
Authorities are concerned some small towns, like Bowen, could be flattened because many buildings were not built to withstand such destructive conditions.
Authorities directed evacuation of residents in Alva Beach, Groper Creek, Jerona, Wunjunga and some areas of Rita Island due to Tropical Cyclone Debbie.
Despite the threats, some people are refusing to leave.
Residents were informed a forced evacuation of the low-lying area had been enacted, but some, including Jan Bridges in Alva Beach south of Townsville, refused to budge.
'I'm staying,' she told officers.
In the Whitsunday Islands gateway town of Airlie Beach several holiday makers are preparing to ride out the storm or even continue their travels across the region.
A local tour operator, who did not wish to be named, said a handful of backpackers were still preparing to head north to Townsville and Cairns and did not appreciate the risk.
Even those well away from the centre of the cyclone are being urged to make preparations with Category 3 winds over 100km/h and flooding expected throughout the region.
'Tomorrow will be too late,' State Disaster Coordinator Michael Gollschewski said.
'Just because they may be some way away from that area that doesn't mean you may not be impacted. People need to be aware of what will be happening in their area.'
Schools between Ayr and Prosperpine will be closed on Monday and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk didn't rule out further closures as the storm nears the coast.
James Cook University has closed its campuses in Cairns, Townsville Ayr and Mackay for Monday.
The cyclone has grounded Jetstar, Virgin and Qantas flights in and out of Townsville, Hamilton Island and Mackay.
Townsville-based BP petrol station worker Stacey Trainer said people had been 'going crazy' filling jerry cans with fuel and memories of the destructive Yasi put people on notice.
'That's why we're watching it quite closely at the moment,' Ms Trainer told AAP. 'Yasi was quite scary.'
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