Low intensifies off Queensland coast and expected to develop as Cyclone Sandra CYCLONE Sandra is expected to develop from a monsoon low late tomorrow or early Friday and could hit severe strength, Category 3, or higher. The low was about 400km east-northeast of Townsville yesterday afternoon and expected to move northeast for two to three days while intensifying to cyclone strength. From Friday, the storm is expected to move southeast away from the coast but will generate big seas which will batter already severely eroded Gold and Sunshine Coast beaches. Weather Bureau forecaster David Grant said heavy rain and storms would occur along the east coast today but then move offshore. "It's a weird thing, but as the cyclone develops it will have the effect of drawing moisture offshore with it," he said. This should leave big seas the immediate major east coast impact. CLOSE TO THE WIND: Kite surfers enjoy windy conditions at Bulcock Beach, Caloundra. "Our models are showing the system will remain offshore at least into the weekend," he said. After that we should know if it's going to develop a westward track. Isolated showers will remain along the coastal strip with showers and storms in the west. Rain continued in central and north Queensland yesterday, with falls up to 100mm in a strip between Cairns and Mackay. A weather station at Mt Jukes, near Mackay, has recorded 750mm of rain in the week to 9am yesterday. It comes as a report released by the Climate Commission says extreme east coast rainfall was influenced by climate change. Report author Will Steffen said climate change was increasing the risk of extreme weather but determining the nature of that influence on rainfall was more complex than for temperature-related events. Australia has always been a land of extremes. However, climate change is now making many types of extreme weather worse, particularly heat waves and bushfires," Professor Steffen said. We remain very concerned that the risk of extreme weather events increases as we continue to emit more and more greenhouse gases. Queensland Floods Appeal distribution committee chairman Terry Mackenroth said residents whose homes were inundated in the wake of Cyclone Oswald needed to lodge applications for emergency funding by March 18.