However, the Bureau of Meteorology says it could still bring strong winds and heavy rain as it moves inland.
"It will carry a lot of that moisture with it, gradually pushing it through central and then more western parts of Queensland," meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.
Kirrily approached the coast on Thursday night as a severe category three system, producing gusts up to 170km/h.
Its intensity slipped to category two just before making landfall about 10pm and eased to a category one system after moving inland, with maximum gusts of 120km/h about midnight.
⚠️ Midnight Update: Tropical Cyclone Kirrily has weakened further as it tracks over land - now a Category 1. Winds near gale force in — Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) #Townsville currently, with gusts to 82 km/h observed in the last half hour. Conditions should ease further in coming hours. pic.twitter.com/zDo7XpKRtOJanuary 25, 2024
"It was more of a wind event than a rain event," Ms Bradbury told ABC News on Friday morning.
"The rainfall totals only reached 50 to 70mm but plenty of wind damage, with many trees down and debris on the roads and that sort of thing."
More than 40,000 homes were left without power as the cyclone approached, the majority in Townsville. Some are expected to remain so yet energy supplier Ergon will only properly begin to assess the damage on Friday morning.
Kirrily was about 100km west of Townsville and 95km north northwest of Charters Towers and continuing west at 23km/h around 1am on Friday.
In meteorological terms, it's is believed to be the strongest cyclone to hit Queensland's north since Cyclone Althea devastated the region in 1971.
The rapidly transforming system lingered in the Coral Sea for days, a tropical low finally developed into Cyclone Kirrily on Wednesday. It was then upgraded to category two on Thursday morning but took just five hours to reach category three status.
North Queensland had bunkered down by 2pm AEST on Thursday as winds intensified.
Townsville airport and more than 120 schools were closed with hundreds of emergency services on standby.
Many Australia Day ceremonies planned for Friday were cancelled while Queensland Rail services north of Rockhampton were suspended.
More than 30,000 homes were already without power late on Thursday amid warnings it could take days to restore electricity in some areas.
Following its coastal crossing, the system is predicted to weaken into a tropical low on Friday.
A severe weather warning has been issued for communities in the system's path, forecasting intense rainfall which could lead to "life-threatening" flash flooding in some areas.
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