A TROPICAL cyclone which is tracking toward the south-east Queensland coast is unlikely to dump significant rain on inland areas.
Tropical Cyclone Oma is currently positioned about 890km north east of Brisbane in the Coral Sea and will track slowly south west into the weekend.
There is still uncertainty as to if the category two storm will make landfall and a cyclone watch is in place from Bundaberg to Ballina on the NSW north coast.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Kimba Wong said from Saturday there was still a fair amount of uncertainty as to where it would track.
She said gales would develop on the exposed coast in the next 48 hours with dangerous surf conditions and high tides expected.
Ms Wong said low-lying areas were at significant risk of inundation and coastal erosion was likely.
However, Ms Wong said it was unlikely any significant rainfall would occur inland with the heaviest falls expected around the Sunshine Coast and adjacent inland areas.
Ms Wong said it was still too early to say whether Cyclone Oma would continue a northern trajectory to deliver more rain to the flood affected areas of north and north-west Queensland.
Queensland State Manager Bruce Gunn said there was still a wide range of scenarios as to where Oma would track.
"Forecast certainty is shaping up to see the most likely scenario that Cyclone Oma will approach the coast this weekend, and a coastal crossing cannot be ruled out at this stage," Mr Gunn said.
"Forecast rainfall totals are largely dependent on the cyclone track, and there still are a wide range of scenarios at this point."
He said while it was unusual for a cyclone to track this far south, it is not unprecedented.
Cyclone Nancy (1990) was the last cyclone to directly impact Brisbane did not make landfall but rather grazed the coast near Byron Bay before moving offshore.