The outer fringe of a tropical cyclone started whipping eastern Australia on Thursday (Mar 6), bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons.

Satellite imagery can help determine the strength, size and cohesion of a storm. The stronger a storm becomes, the more likely an eye will form in the center. When the eye looks symmetrical, that often means the storm is not encountering anything to weaken it.

The current location, trajectory, strength and likely impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, illustrated by seven maps.

The outer fringe of a tropical cyclone started whipping eastern Australia on Thursday, bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons. Tropical Cyclone Alfred was 285 kilometers (180 miles) east of busy Brisbane city after unexpectedly slowing above the Coral Sea overnight,

Australia’s east coast is closely watching Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which has been churning and strengthening over the Coral Sea. Although the storm is expected to stay offshore for now, it’s still set to bring gusty winds, rising swells and hazardous surf conditions to Queensland’s heavily populated coastline in the coming days.

Cyclone Alfred is expected to causebillions of dollars of damage when itmakes landfall around coastal citiesin Queensland and northern NSW.

Damaging winds, heavy rainfall and life-threatening floods are expected after the storm made a sudden shift toward Queensland.