Qld weather: Severe storms, 100kmh winds next for fire-ravaged state

Severe thunderstorms and gale force winds are the latest weather threat to bushfire-hit Queensland, as heatwave conditions make way for cooler temperatures but little rain.

Severe thunderstorms and gale force winds are on the cards for Queensland as the Bureau of Meteorology issued a Fire Weather Warning on Thursday.

Community information officer Daniel Hayes said the potential for damaging wind gusts and hail comes as a trough moved east across central and southern Queensland.

“We’re looking at the possibility that some of those could be severe, north of around about Gympie expanding into the Wide Bay and potentially up into the Capricornia, Gladstone sort of area,” he said.

The trough is forecast to cross the southeast on Thursday, then move offshore on Friday.

“Not so much looking at particularly heavy rainfalls, because it looks like the storm systems will be fairly quick moving so they won‘t have a long time over any spot to drop significant amounts of rain,” he said.

A picture taken over a four-minute period shows some of the lightning that pounded the Western Downs overnight. Picture: My Australia Down Under

The Bureau forecast some areas to receive 20 to 30 millimetres about the Southeast with most of the severe activity set for the northern and western areas of the district.

Mr Hayes said winds of up to 100km/h are possible in those areas with multiple wind warning current as of Thursday morning.

“Along parts of the coast, Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast area and of course we’ll see those continue into tomorrow,” he said.

“Potentially Gale Warnings on the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast waters tomorrow, those winds are building.”

Aerial vision over the fires at Tara.

“Also we have a Fire Weather Warning for those areas in the Central West, the Northwest, Channel Country and the Maranoa and Warrego.”

Contributing to those Fire Warnings were some already significant wind speeds on Thursday morning.

Ballera in the Channel Country clocked south south-easterly 67km/h winds and Birdsville recorded 61km/h.

At St George in the Maranoa and Warrego area winds at 59km/h were recorded, where at Goondiwindi in the Southern Downs they were 54km/h.

Along the Southeast coast Redcliffe clocked winds at 48km/h and Brisbane Airport recorded 44km/h.

Coolangatta and the Gold Cost Seaway felt winds of 39km/h.

Banana Bank, Cape Moreton, Hope Banks Beacon, Inner Beacon, North West 10 Beacon all recorded winds over 50km/h.

The storm activity began in on Wednesday with 10 to 15 millimetres falling in certain regions, but none impacting the Western Downs fire grounds significantly.

“We had a few falls, sort of to the east of where the fires are in the Downs, 10 millimetres or so at Darr Creek, which is about the most in that area,” Mr Hayes said.

“Close to the coast up Wide Bay Area, Black Pinch just inland on the Sunshine Coast, they had about 11 millimetres.”