South-east Queenslanders are hunkering down as the 600-kilometre wide Cyclone Oma looms offshore, twice the size of the category 4 Cyclone Debbie that smashed the north almost two years ago.
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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned residents from the central Queensland coast down to the NSW border against camping, boating, fishing, swimming or surfing this weekend.
Waves as high as seven metres were expected at the weekend as the tropical cyclone whipped up big swells, which combined with high tides.
Bureau of Meteorology state manager Bruce Gunn said the category 1 system was expected to continue moving south-south-west for the next 24 hours to 36 hours.
"You never turn your back on a cyclone," Ms Palaszczuk said after coming out of a Queensland Disaster Management Committee meeting on Friday morning.
"There is still a severe weather warning out this weekend, so my clear message to families from Sandy Cape all the way down to Coolangatta is don’t go camping, don't go boating, don't go fishing, don't go swimming and don't go surfing."
Ms Palaszczuk said wind gusts faster than 110 km/h had been recorded at Cape Moreton and barges to and from North Stradbroke Island and Moreton Island had been cancelled.
Cyclone Oma was forecast to intensify to a category 2 again on Friday afternoon before turning north and moving up the Queensland coast on Saturday afternoon.
"Due to the cyclone staying offshore, the rainfall is largely going to stay offshore," Mr Gunn said.
"There will be some rain in the south-east of Queensland over the weekend, but not as much as originally foreshadowed."
Cyclone Oma weakened and was downgraded overnight, resulting in the weather bureau cancelling its cyclone and flood warnings.
However, the huge swell and associated beach erosion were expected to continue along the southern Queensland coastline, with all beaches on the Gold Coast and most on the Sunshine Coast closed.
At 10am on Friday, Cyclone Oma was about 640 kilometres east-north-east of Brisbane in the Coral Sea.
Forecasters expected the cyclone to keep impacting the Queensland coast into early next week as the weather bureau struggled to predict its path amid the effects of other forces.
"Dangerous surf conditions are forecast about exposed beaches along the south-east Queensland coast south of Sandy Cape, including the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, today," the BoM warned.
"Water levels on the high tide are likely to continue to exceed the highest tide of the year about the south-east Queensland coast over the coming days.
"This has the potential to be a significant beach erosion event given the combination of the increasing surf, abnormally high tides and the fact that these conditions should persist for a few days.
"Locally damaging wind gusts in excess of 90 kilometres per hour are likely about the exposed coast and islands between Sandy Cape and the Qld/NSW border today and Saturday.
"These damaging wind gusts may extend to the southern border ranges, inland to about Springbrook, later today.
"Locations which may be affected include Gold Coast, Maroochydore, Moreton Island, North Stradbroke Island, Noosa Heads, Caloundra, Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island, Tamborine Mountain and Springbrook."
The Bureau of Meteorology was urging Sunshine Coast residents to brace as they were likely to cop the brunt.
Brisbane was also put on notice, despite the bureau expecting Cyclone Oma, the first cyclone to threaten to strike the city in almost three decades, to turn northwards at the last minute.
Events along the Queensland coast are being cancelled and holidaymakers are rescheduling travel plans as dangerous conditions are expected to continue into early next week.
