Cyclone Jasper is expected to intensify before becoming the first of the season to hit Australia
BRISBANE, Austrtalia (AP) — Powerful winds have begun uprooting trees on the northeast Australian coast as Tropical Cyclone Jasper gathered strength while approaching. Queensland state Deputy Premier Steven Miles says Jasper is forecast to intensify from a category 1 storm to category 2 on a 5-tier scale before it becomes the first cyclone of the current season to cross the Australian coast late Wednesday, The cyclone is expected to cross the Queensland coast somewhere along a sparsely populated 200-kilometer stretch from Cairns north to Hope Vale. Hope Vlae is an Aboriginal community of 1,000. Jasper is expected to lash the coast with winds of up to 140 kph (87 mph) as it crosses from the Coral Sea.