AUSTRALIA HIT BY TROPICAL CYCLONE

A tropical cyclone that forecasters expected to briefly flare to hurricane strength, then diminish has instead steadily gained strength.

Tropical Cyclone Pancho gained Category 2 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale yesterday, and overnight grew to the cusp of Category 3 strength, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Currently packing winds of 109 mph, it is expected to lose strength today and tomorrow, according to the latest forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The Southern Hemisphere summer, and its hurricane season, is coming to an end. Hurricanes are called tropical cyclones in this part of the world, and typhoons in other parts. Australia also uses a different numbered scale to measure hurricane strength.

Thousands of holidaymakers fled one of Australia's top tourist destinations today as a tropical cyclone lashed the country's northeast coast.

Authorities in Queensland state ordered the evacuation of Fraser Island as Tropical Cyclone Hamish approached the World Heritage-listed site shortly after it was upgraded to a category five storm, the most severe on the weather scale.

The cyclone has been tracking south about 120 kilometres off the Queensland coast, but meteorologists warn its path is unpredictable and it could veer onto the mainland, potentially sparking a major disaster.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said three islands were evacuated today -- Fraser, Heron and Lady Elliot -- bringing the total number of tourist islands cleared to five. "The biggest evacuation is occurring off Fraser Island, where we have around 3,000 people," Roberts told Sky News.

Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island, is a popular destination for travellers to Australia who are attracted by its rainforests, spectacular beaches and the chance to see dingoes in the wild.

Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh has warned that if the cyclone makes land, it could be more destructive than Cyclone Larry in 2006, which caused an USD 321 million in damage to crops and infrastructure.

As the Atlantic hurricane season winds down (October is typically the last month when hurricanes form) the Australian hurricane season is only just beginning.

The season, which starts officially Nov. 1, is expected to be close to average, but more active than last season, according to the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology.

About 10 cyclones the term used to describe tropical storms and hurricanes in Australia are expected to form, based on the latest predictions, with at least one severe storm expected.

The Atlantic hurricane season was odd in that many tropical storms formed, but relative few hurricanes, but those hurricanes that did form were both strong and intensified rapidly.

Conditions that lead to cyclone formation are specific to different regions, so there may be little correlation between the seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres with the exception of a La Nina pattern of cooling in the Pacific, which has an influence on weather patterns, including hurricane formation, worldwide.