Tropical Cyclone Seth is set to "make life difficult" for Queensland's southeast with "abnormally" high tides, strong winds and huge swells expected to hit this weekend.
But the Bureau of Meteorology does not expect the tropical cyclone to intensify, saying it is set to become a tropical low by the time it starts moving closer to the coast on Monday.
Tropical Cyclone Seth has already been downgraded from category two to category one on Saturday.
"At this stage we are not expecting it to cross the coastline," BOM meteorologist Helen Reid told AAP.
"It will make life difficult for the coastline, definitely, but it is likely to weaken and not be classed as a tropical cyclone by the time we get to late Monday.
"Indications are that it will only be a tropical cyclone for another day or two - if it crosses the coast it will not be a tropical cyclone."
BOM still issued strong wind, severe weather and hazardous surf warnings on Saturday for the state's southeast as Tropical Cyclone Seth moved down the Coral Sea after forming 495km northeast of Mackay.
"With the wind, surf and warnings for abnormally high tides, there is plenty going on without it hitting the coast," Ms Reid said.
A strong wind warning has been issued from Mackay to Sunshine Coast, with gales expected to impact the southeast by Sunday after gusts of more than 100km/h were recorded off the coast on Friday night.
BOM has also issued a severe weather warning from Wide Bay to the southeast coast with high tides expected to reach an "astronomical peak" over the next few days, easing on Wednesday.
Areas that may be affected include Gold Coast, Maroochydore, Coolangatta, Moreton Island, Noosa Heads, Caloundra, North Stradbroke Island, Rainbow Beach and Redcliffe.
"We are doing some modelling today to see what impact tomorrow's high tide will have on low lying areas like Budds Beach,'' Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said.
"The high tide is due in the morning and it is predicted to be around 0.5 metres higher than normal high tides for this time of the year.
"I advise people to keep kids away from stormwater drains and local creeks ... and the main rivers feeding into our Broadwater."
A hazardous surf warning is current from Fraser Island down to Sunshine Coast, with the Gold Coast expected to be hit on Sunday, with waves of up to four metres predicted.
The wild conditions forced Surf Life Saving Queensland to close 14 beaches on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday afternoon.
Australian Associated Press
