Brisbane weather: Storm remain on radar after early deluge
A warning for hail and damaging winds has been issued for parts of southern Queensland, following a day of wild weather.
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A warning for “fast-developing” thunderstorms was issued late on Thursday night for a large part of southern Queensland.
At 11.40pm, the weather bureau said damaging winds and large hailstones were likely to impact the Darling Downs area over the next few hours.
Locations likely to be affected included Warwick, Toowoomba, Dalby, Kingaroy, Gatton and Oakey.
Earlier on Thursday evening storms swept through the South East and Wide Bay areas, bringing in large hail and damaging winds.
The weather bureau said the thunderstorms were being caused by an active trough that was extending north into South East Queensland from a cold front along the east coast.
Those storm warnings were cancelled just before 8pm but the bureau warned that thunderstorms could reform again.
Large hail was reported at a number of locations, included in Coes Creek in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and in Glen Niven in the Granite Belt.
This evening’s storms come after a morning of wild weather that triggered flash flooding and carnage on the roads in the state’s south-east.
Emergency services were earlier called to a five-vehicle crash northbound on the Pacific Mwy at Eight Mile Plains. It is one in a spate of crashes that have occurred during the wet weather.
It comes after a massive severe thunderstorm slammed into South East Queensland early Thursday morning, delivering a torrential downpour that has triggered flash flooding alerts.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Brisbane and Moreton Bay.
Almost 90mm has fallen in parts of the Gold Coast and Brisbane’s eastern suburbs, while more than 50mm was dumped at Dalby, west of Toowoomba, in just an hour to 3am.
There are unofficial reports of close to 100mm at Dulacca on the western Darling Downs.
Dalby copping an absolute monster at the moment,” local resident Adam Ogden reported early Thursday morning.
“Thunder shaking the ground and heavy, heavy rain, lighting strikes every 3 or so seconds.”
Flash flooding is impacting the Mt Lindesay Highway at Munruben, just south of Brown Plains, will all lanes affected.
HEAVIEST RAINFALL
Since 9am Wednesday
Upper Springbrook (Gold Coast) – 88mm
Wynnum – 81mm
Lytton – 79mm
Tallebudgera – 62mm
Burbank – 59mm
Nerang – 59mm
Manly – 58mm
Eagle Farm – 56mm
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Shane Kennedy said the highest rainfall total in the last 24 hours was 88mm at Upper Springbrook.
“In the south east we are generally seeing 20-60mm …. from Toowoomba to the coast,” Mr Kennedy said.
“Brisbane city itself so far we’ve seen 38mm, Ipswich is in the 30mm range, while the Gold Coast seaway recorded 30mm as well.”
âš ï¸â›ˆï¸ Severe thunderstorm #warning for heavy rainfall continues for #SEQld, details and updates: https://t.co/CinugnxqkNpic.twitter.com/yHdeP2ejfd
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) October 13, 2021
Mr Kennedy said showers and thunderstorms would continue for the next couple hours and build up again in the afternoon and evening.”
He said it was possible isolated areas would experience more dangerous thunderstorms, with disruptive winds and giant hail stones.
“The risk is further inland, Wide Bay …. Kingaroy, extending to Lockyer Valley”.
There is flash flooding on the Mt Lindesay Highway at Munruben. All lanes affected, expect delays, please use alternative route. Remember, DO NOT drive through flood waters. pic.twitter.com/xcmbWGALvX
— RACQ (@RACQOfficial) October 13, 2021
Queensland Ambulance Service has responded to numerous traffic crashes over the past 12 hours.
Advanced Care Paramedic Jen Kinsela, is urging motorists to slow down on the roads and drive to conditions.
“So far we’ve been quite fortunate they’ve been minor prangs at the moment there have been a few rollovers but at the moment it does seem to be because the roads are quite wet,” Ms Kinsela said.
“Cars need to take extra caution on the roads,” she warned.
“With flash flooding predicted particularly later this afternoon we are encouraging all drivers to drive with their lights on and try to slow down and drive to the conditions.
“If it’s flooded, forget it, don’t drive through it, it’s not worth it”.
Ms Kinsela said driving through flood water poses a risk to the driver and emergency services.
Earlier, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe storm warning at 6am for Brisbane, Somerset and Moreton Bay.
It warned that severe thunderstorms were likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the next several hours.
At 5.55am, severe thunderstorms were detected on the weather radar west and northwest of Esk.
These thunderstorms are moving towards the east. They are forecast to impact Esk, northern Lake Wivenhoe and Somerset Dam by 6.25am and Highvale, the D’Aguilar Ranges and Dayboro by 6.55am.
“An upper trough and associated surface trough are triggering thunderstorms through the Darling Downs and moving into the southeast,” BOM warned.
Sky News meteorologist Alison Osborne said supercell thunderstorms forecast for southern and South East Queensland were characterised by large swirling shelf clouds.
“When you think about dangerous things that spin, of course tornadoes do come to mind,” Ms Osborne said.
“So there is an isolated risk of tornado activity, and it is more likely around the Darling Downs.
“But it is a threat across a broad region from around the Central Highlands right the way down to northern New South Wales tomorrow.
“It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where they will form, and the chance is quite isolated – so across a broad area of storm activity in southern Queensland, we might get one tornado or we could get several.”
It comes after a late-night severe storm warning was issued for parts of the Darling Downs and Granite Belt districts.
Weather bureau meteorologist Helen Reid said the weather system moving out to sea was expected to impact a broad area on Thursday.
She said severe storms were likely through to the coast and could bring flash flooding, heavy rain, damaging winds and hail.
The weather system is forming from warm and humid air streaming over Queensland meeting with a pool of cold air rising from the Australian Bight.
“When you have those two boundaries meeting, it tends to create quite explosive thunderstorm activity,” Ms Osborne said.
“It’s a quite a broad area under threat from storms tomorrow and they are the kind that can knock out your power and drop tree branches as well.”
Central and southeastern parts of Queensland copped a drenching in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning with wheat farmer Jazz Lines rejoicing over the downpour at Roma.
She said a much-needed 40mm had fallen in the area over the past few days.
“It’s been a very long winter but at the moment everyone is trying to harvest so it probably wasn’t the most ideal timing,” Ms Lines said.
“We can’t complain though- we need the rain to fill the catchments and dam, for our crops, and for livestock.”
In response to the forecast of a wetter-than-usual spring, Ms Lines said: “Bring it on.”
Tropical moisture was already feeding into more eastern parts of Queensland on Wednesday bringing overcast conditions and showers.
The system is expected to move off the coast on Friday morning before a mostly sunny weekend.
More showers have been forecast for early next week for the southeast.
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