What Category is Cyclone Alfred? Intensity & Updates 2025

For days, tens of thousands of Queenslanders watched a single number determine their fate. Cyclone Alfred reached Category 4 — the most intense storm to threaten southeast Queensland in recent memory — before weakening, regrouping, and eventually making landfall as a subtropical system in early March 2025. Understanding that swing from Category 4 to Category 1, and what each rating actually means on the ground, matters when your evacuation order depends on it.

Peak Category: 4 (severe) · Highest Winds: 165 km/h · Lowest Pressure: 954 hPa · Status Update: Weakened to Category 1, re-intensified · Affected Areas: Southeast Queensland coast

Is Cyclone Alfred a category 2 or 3?

The short answer: Alfred was a Category 4 at its peak. The more complete answer involves a system that spent only one day at its strongest point before beginning to weaken, then surprised forecasters by re-intensifying closer to the coast.

Peak intensity details

Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred (22U) reached its lifetime peak intensity of Category 4 — 90 knots (165 km/h sustained winds, 10-minute mean) — on the morning of 28 February 2025 while still positioned offshore, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The Category 4 status held for roughly 18 hours, from 4 am AEST until 10 pm AEST that same day, before the system began interacting with cooler waters and increasing wind shear.

The central pressure bottomed out at 954 hPa during that peak phase. BoM’s official history notes this occurred over waters between 29–30°C, providing ample heat energy for rapid intensification before the storm entered a more hostile environment.

Category fluctuations

By 10 am AEST on 2 March 2025, Alfred had weakened to Category 1 as it tracked southeastward roughly 460 km northeast of Brisbane. The downgrade was confirmed by both the Bureau of Meteorology and post-event analysis from Guy Carpenter. But the weakening was not the end of the story.

Alfred re-intensified to Category 2 at 4 am AEST on 6 March 2025, per BoM records. It then crossed Moreton Island at approximately 23:30 AEST on 7 March 2025 with sustained winds around 75 km/h, before being downgraded to a tropical low by 6:45 AEST on 8 March and making final landfall near Brisbane around 9 pm AEST.

Has Cyclone Alfred been downgraded to a category one?

Yes — twice, technically. The first downgrade occurred on 2 March 2025 when Alfred weakened from its Category 4 peak to Category 1 while positioned east of Rockhampton, roughly 460 km from Brisbane. The second downgrade happened on 8 March 2025, when the system was reclassified as a tropical low as it crossed Bribie Island.

Downgrade timeline

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Alfred held Category 4 intensity for approximately 18 hours on 28 February before wind shear and cooler sea surface temperatures began eroding the storm’s structure. By 10 am AEST on 2 March, the system had been downgraded to Category 1.

During the period from 3–5 March, Alfred exhibited subtropical characteristics with intensity between 45–55 knots, before being formally reclassified as a tropical Category 1 system at 10 pm AEST on 5 March. The system then re-intensified to Category 2 on 6 March as it approached southeast Queensland.

Re-intensification

The re-intensification surprised some forecasters. After weakening to Category 1 on 2 March, Alfred spent several days in a transitional subtropical phase before reorganizing over warmer waters closer to the coast. At 4 am AEST on 6 March, BoM confirmed the system had climbed back to Category 2, bringing renewed urgency to evacuation orders across the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast regions.

How bad is a category 2 cyclone in Australia?

Australian cyclone categories are not equivalent to the Saffir-Simpson scale used in the Atlantic. The Bureau of Meteorology defines Category 2 as capable of producing gusts exceeding 125 km/h — winds strong enough to bring down trees, damage unsecured structures, and pose genuine danger to anyone caught outdoors.

Damage potential

Category 2 cyclones can cause significant damage to mobile homes, caravans, and poorly constructed sheds. Roof tiles may be lifted, windows cracked, and outdoor furniture transformed into projectiles. Power outages are common, and minor flooding can accompany the heavy rain that typically accompanies these systems.

For southeast Queensland — a region unaccustomed to direct cyclone hits — a Category 2 landing carried extra weight. Many structures in the coastal strip were built to Queensland’s standard building codes, but older homes and informal additions presented vulnerable points.

Wind and impacts

When Alfred approached as a Category 2 system in early March 2025, wind gusts exceeding 100 km/h were recorded at Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with Byron Bay experiencing gusts up to 120 km/h, according to post-event analysis. The Gold Coast also recorded a 12.3-metre wave — the highest in 38 years — during Alfred’s passage, demonstrating that the damage potential from a Category 2 storm extends well beyond wind.

The combined wind, wave, and rain impacts left over 80,000 properties without power across Queensland and New South Wales during the event.

Where did Cyclone Alfred hit?

Unlike the typical Gulf of Carpentaria track taken by previous Alfred-named storms, the 2025 system made its most significant landfalls on islands off the coast of Brisbane before tracking inland across SEQ.

Landfall location

Alfred crossed Moreton Island at approximately 23:30 AEST on 7 March 2025 with sustained winds around 75 km/h, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s official timeline. The system then moved across Bribie Island as a subtropical cyclone at approximately 8 pm AEST on 8 March 2025, before being downgraded to a tropical low near Brisbane around 9 pm AEST.

Neither island landfall represented the full fury of the storm at peak intensity — that energy had already dissipated as the system interacted with the coast and cooler waters. But the coastal communities from Caloundra to Coolangatta absorbed sustained tropical storm-force winds and extraordinary rainfall. Travellers planning cruise from Brisbane departures should monitor local conditions during cyclone season.

Path tracked

Formed on 21 February 2025 as the seventh named storm of the 2024-25 Australian region cyclone season, Alfred tracked south-southeastward across the Coral Sea for nearly two weeks before making its sequential island landfalls. The system remained offshore long enough to reach Category 4 intensity over warm Coral Sea waters before the eyewall collapsed and the system began its erratic weakening-reintensification cycle.

Cyclone Alfred wind speed

The peak wind speed recorded during Alfred’s lifetime was 165 km/h sustained (90 knots, 10-minute mean) — placing the storm firmly in Category 4 territory as defined by the Bureau of Meteorology scale.

Sustained winds

The 90-knot figure represents the highest sustained wind measurement during Alfred’s peak phase on 28 February 2025. This is distinct from wind gusts, which typically run 20–30% higher. BoM’s official history confirms the peak sustained winds held for approximately 18 hours on 28 February.

By comparison, the 2017 Cyclone Alfred — an entirely different storm affecting the Gulf of Carpentaria — peaked at just 50 knots (95 km/h), a Category 1 system per Bureau of Meteorology records. The 1986 Cyclone Alfred reached only 83 km/h at its strongest, also Category 1, and caused no reported damage per BoM’s official history.

Gust records

The Bureau of Meteorology reports wind gusts exceeding 125 km/h in Category 2 conditions, with Category 4 representing gusts above 225 km/h. During Alfred’s approach to southeast Queensland in early March 2025, wind gusts over 100 km/h were recorded at Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with Byron Bay experiencing gusts up to 120 km/h — all consistent with the system’s Category 2 reclassification at that time.

Timeline of Cyclone Alfred (2025)

Alfred formed in late February and spent nearly two weeks tracking toward southeast Queensland, fluctuating between Category 4 and Category 1 before making landfall.

Quotes and perspectives

“Alfred was at its lifetime peak intensity of Category 4 strength (90 knots, 165 km/hr 10-minute mean winds).”

— Bureau of Meteorology, Official Cyclone History

“A Category 2 cyclone might sound low. But Alfred’s bringing sustained tropical storm-force winds, heavy rainfall, and dangerous storm surge to one of the most densely populated coastlines in Australia.”

— ABC News, March 2025 coverage

Summary

Cyclone Alfred peaked at Category 4 with 165 km/h sustained winds on 28 February 2025 — roughly twice the intensity of the two prior storms sharing that name — before weakening, regrouping to Category 2, and crossing the islands off Brisbane as a subtropical system. The wind numbers tell only part of the story. Over 80,000 properties lost power across Queensland and New South Wales, the Gold Coast recorded its highest waves in nearly four decades, and Brisbane experienced its wettest single day since January 1974.

For Queensland coastal residents, the lesson cuts both ways: a storm that weakens offshore can still deliver catastrophic inland flooding, and a Category 2 landing on an unseasoned coastline can prove as destructive as a Category 4 hit on a hurricane-hardened region. Sports fans attending events such as Brisbane Roar FC games should remain aware of residual impacts during post-cyclone recovery periods.

Frequently asked questions