South East Queensland smashed by heavy rain, hail as ‘powerful’ storms unleash
South East Queensland was hit with flash flooding and mass power outages Saturday afternoon after severe thunderstorms lashed the region.
South East Queensland was hit with flash flooding and mass power outages Saturday afternoon after severe thunderstorms lashed the region.
Rainfall of up to 100mm was recorded in numerous places across the Sunshine Coast and hinterland regions, with multiple road closures from flooding.
Flash flooding was also observed in Upper Kedron near Canvey Rd with all the lanes blocked from both directions.
Parts of Boonah, south of Brisbane was also hit with flash flooding after the major deluge.
More than 4500 people were without power on the Sunshine Coast at the storm’s peak.
Golf-ball sized hail stones were reported to have hit the Sunshine Coast following an intense storm in the regions of Caloundra and Nirimba.
Falls of up to 100mm in about an hour caused rapid flash flooding west of Caloundra, near Duck Hole Creek.
Higgins Storm Chasing reported that Kenilworth had received more than 100mm of rain dumped in about an hour.
“A slow moving, nasty storm, dumped an absolute ton of rain on Kenilworth, this afternoon,” Higgins said.
“It caused significant and rapid flash flooding that impacted properties.”
Queensland’s State Emergency Service were called to 132 jobs overnight, with 62 per cent of them for structural damage, 20 per cent for flooding and five per cent for fallen trees.
There were 28 jobs for Moreton Bay, 24 for Brisbane, 24 for the Sunshine Coast, 16 for Toowoomba and 10 for Ipswich.
Significant rainfall was recorded in multiple areas in a short span of 30 minutes.
There was 61mm recorded at Mt Berryman Rd, west of Brisbane, in the 30 minutes to 3.45pm, while 55mm was recorded at Mulgowie Rd in the 30 minutes to 3.50pm and 52mm was recorded at Rockside Mt in the 30 minutes to 3.45pm.
The storms hit as SEQ mopped up from a Friday night lashing that left more than 10,000 homes without power across Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Redland, Moreton Bay, Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Somerset and Toowoomba areas.
More than 1500 homes were still without power at lunchtime on Saturday.
St Vincent’s Private Hospital at Toowoomba suffered minor water damage to a theatre recovery area on Friday afternoon.
SES used tarping around the area as a precaution and sandbagged internal walkways.
A St Vincent’s Private Hospital Spokesman said they were still assessing damage but were optimistic there would be no impact to surgeries or operations on Monday.
There are also reports a man was crushed by a tree in wild weather on the Sunshine Coast.
BOM’s Miriam Bradbury said the temperatures were above the November average through much of Queensland on Saturday.
“This equates to temperatures in the mid to high 30s inland, high 20s to low 30s along the coast,” she said.
“The warm weather will combine with windy conditions and dry air through inland areas, which means we’ll see elevated fire dangers through inland Queensland and much of New South Wales.
“Now by Sunday, the cloud band and rain will start to make their presence felt in terms of the temperatures, with much cooler weather setting in for Queensland.”
