Flood worries as WA cyclone threat eases The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a flood-watch warning for the north Kimberley region. A DAMAGING tropical low is expected to bare down on Western Australia on Christmas night but cyclone fears are declining. And strong winds are forecast for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The Bureau of Meteorology says a tropical low in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, to the north of Wyndham, is expected to cross the Kimberley coast on Wednesday night. The weather system could bring heavy rainfall, flash flooding and thunderstorms with winds up to 100 km/h. While the weather bureau says the weather is typical for this time of year, the winds could damage property and make road conditions hazardous. A flood-watch warning is still in place for the North Kimberley. The bureau cancelled a earlier cyclone warning for the Mitchell Plateau to the Northern Territory border The low is no longer expected to become a tropical cyclone. However, heavy rainfall is still forecast over the north Kimberley for the next few days, with falls up to 125 millimetres forecast from Kalumburu to Kununurra expected in the coming 24 hours. Further east, strong winds are expected to lash the southern NSW coast during the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, which starts on Thursday. Gale force winds are forecast for the Illawarra coast on Boxing Day and a strong-wind warning has been issued for the Hunter Coast and Sydney Coastal area. The weather bureau forecasts 15 to 25 knot winds increasing to 35 knots offshore on Thursday for the Illawarra coast. The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race starts from Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day and follows a 628 nautical mile course out into the Tasman Sea.