This is the sting in Alfred’s tail. These storms are drawing down very warm, moist air from the Coral Sea in the north. If you happen to be under one of these slow-moving thunderstorms, they are getting ready to dump a lot of rain. The situation is very volatile, as the atmosphere is very unstable.

A slow-moving tropical storm crossed islands off Australia’s heavily populated eastern coast late Friday, lashing coastal suburbs with destructive winds and dumping heavy rain across the region.

One person has been confirmed dead and several injured as rain lashed the Australian east coast, even though it avoided the destructive winds of its first tropical cyclone in 51 years. Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the Australian coast near the Queensland state capital of Brisbane,

Alfred is forecast to make landfall near Brisbane, the capital of Queensland and Australia’s third largest city.

Tropical storm Alfred could cause significant flooding in eastern Australia despite the slowly moving storm no longer being a cyclone.

Cyclone Alfred - which has been downgraded from a cyclone to a tropical low - has caused flooding, damage to buildings and left thousands without power across the eastern coast of Australia. Millions of people across Queensland and north New South Wales have been affected.

Residents who prepared for the cyclone now have little to do but wait and see how their efforts will pay off against the rising water.

Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred has officially reached the mainland in Queensland's south-east bringing with it intense winds and fears of flooding.