Tropical Cyclone Ului approaching Queensland, Australia (bottom left in image) at 03:35 UTC on March 19.

Cyclone Ului has already caused some closures and preparations in northeastern Queensland, Australia in anticipation of the storm’s landfall this weekend. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Ului approaching Queensland earlier today.

The Tropical Cyclone Watch area stretches north from Ayr to Cardwell, which includes the larger cities of Townsville and Thuringowa, Bowling Green Bay National Park, Hichinbrook Island National Park, Girringun National Park, Cardwell and Abergonie State Forests. Rail lines and coal ports in Queensland have already been closed down in anticipation of Ului’s arrival this weekend. One report indicated that the coal terminal in Dalrymple Bay closed due to strong winds and rough seas.

At 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on Friday, March 19, Tropical Cyclone Ului’s maximum sustained winds were near 63 mph (55 knots) making Ului a tropical storm. At that time, Ului’s center was about 560 nautical miles east of Cairns, Australia near 18.2 degrees South latitude and 155.0 degrees East longitude. Ului was moving southwestward at 12 mph (11 knots). Coastal areas are already dealing with rough surf, and those conditions will continue into the weekend. In open ocean Ului is creating maximum significant wave heights up to 26 feet.