Cool, cloudy Christmas Day weather in southeast Queensland as north swelters
Christmas Day is expected to be cooler than average and cloudy for most of southeast Queensland, but the state’s north won’t be so lucky with some regions hitting a sweltering 47C.
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SOUTHEAST Queensland can expect a cooler than average Christmas Day as temperatures drop 5C from yesterday’s highs after thunderstorms smashed the region overnight.
At 9.30am Energex were reporting one customer in the Brisbane region and 49 at Forestdale in Logan City still without power after last night’s storms, and 27 in the Sunshine Coast hinterland at Flaxton and Montville.
In the Gold Coast region 1,600 customers are without power: 759 at Surfers Paradise, 201 at Broadbeach, 470 at Broadbeach Waters and 170 at nearby Bundall.
Cloud cover is expected to blanket the whole of the southeast with Brisbane forecast to be a mild 25C.
The forecast for the Brisbane area is cloudy with a very high (95%) chance of showers, most likely during the morning and afternoon. There is the chance of a thunderstorm during the morning and early afternoon. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 25 km/h in the early afternoon.
Sun protection is still recommended from 7:40 am to 3:40 pm, with the UV Index predicted to reach 12 [Extreme].
As at 7am there were no weather warnings for Queensland.
But residents in the state’s far north won’t be so lucky with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting the northwestern parts of the state will hit the high 40s, with Urandanji expected to be the hottest at a sweltering 47C.
“The coldest area is predicted to be Toowoomba with temperatures expected to reach 21C and Applethrope, sitting at about 22C,” BOM Senior Forecaster Gabriel Branescu said.
“The temperatures are dependent on the amount of cloud coverage, but it’s very likely the coolest areas will be around Lockyer Valley (and) Stanthorpe”.
The Airport, Gold Coast, Beenleigh and Ferny Grove train lines were stopped in both directions about 6.49pm, leaving some travellers with 90-minute delays.
Energex crews were overworked with “a long list of jobs” as power outages affected about 15,000 residents across the southeast.
At 7.15am Energex were reporting 82 customers affected by power outages. The bulk of those are at Forestdale in Logan City, with 49 customers affected due to damage from last night’s severe weather. The affected residents are in four streeets: Abbey St, Abbott St, Scribner Ave
and Staff Pl.
There are also 16 customers without power at Flaxton, a village in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Energex are conducting emergency repairs to homes in Carrington Dr and on Kondalilla Falls Rd.
Also in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland some residents on Kondalilla Falls Rd at Montville are also without power.
Moreton Bay’s Kobble Creek recorded about 40mm of rain overnight while Brisbane City and Jindalee saw about 20mm, while parched Toowoomba only received about 7mm.
Mr Branescu said southeast locals have received the bulk of rainfall last night, forecasting between 20 to 60mm of rain to fall across the southeast coast.
“Rain will come off into showers as the bulk of rainfall should shift northerly, to the Wide Bay region and surroundings”.
TOP CHRISTMAS TEMPERATURES
Brisbane 25C
Gold Coast 24C
Sunshine Coast 26C
Ipswich 26C
Toowoomba 21C
Cairns 33C
Townsville 33C
Rockhampton 37C
Mackay 33C
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