The outer bands of Tropical Cyclone Alfred are lashing Australia’s east coast with wind and rain as the rare southerly storm’s eye inches closer to landfall expected on Saturday morning.

Former Tropical Cyclone Alfred continued to dump heavy rain across large parts of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) while moving inland, inundating roads and leaving tens of thousands of households without power as hundreds of schools remained shut, local media reported Monday.

Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred lingered off the south-east Australian coast on Saturday and forecasters said Brisbane is likely to miss the worst of the storm, a relief for millions of residents in the region who have been staying indoors.

Initially called Cyclone Alfred, the weather front was downgraded to a tropical low with winds set to reach up to 85km/h, less strong than first forecast. The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm is currently sitting off Bribie Island and is moving slowly north,

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated and some 84,000 households left in the dark as a rare tropical cyclone approaches Australia's eastern coast. Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall on Saturday morning between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast - known for beautiful beaches and top surf – as well as Brisbane,

A rare tropical cyclone weakened to a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, the country's third most populous city. Before being downgraded, Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast since 1974.