Hailstones and flames batter Queensland, a state of fire and ice
While a firefront approached Toowoomba, the Sunshine Coast was being pummelled by hail.
It was a day of fire and ice in a nation of extremes.
While people north of Toowoomba were being evacuated from their homes as a massive firefront approached, a few hundred kilometres away the Sunshine Coast was being pummelled by giant hailstones.
Hailstones between 2cm and 6cm, about the size of a cricket ball, fell between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast as three severe thunderstorms moved across the coast just after 2pm on Sunday.
The onslaught was not anticipated by locals, with social media posts showing cars at the sides of roads with smashed windscreens and ice-covered backyards resembling a winter wonderland.
Almost 40mm of rain was recorded on the Sunshine Coast, with wind gusts up to 70km/h.
Isolated showers dropped 10mm to 20mm of rain elsewhere.
Senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jess Gardner said the extreme difference in weather conditions “doesn’t happen often, but it is not an anomaly”.
The downpour had little impact on the bushfire raging on Moreton Island, which received only about 3mm of rain.
Holidaymakers on the island were ordered to evacuate yesterday afternoon as winds were forecast to change the direction of the fire towards camping grounds.
It was one of the two fires of major concern, alongside the Pechey firefront, west of Brisbane.
The fast-moving fire swallowed more than 1000ha of bushland on Sunday, spurred by a combination of warm temperatures, strong winds and dry air that intensified the extreme conditions.
An aerial tanker flew from NSW to pre-emptively drop fire retardant ahead of the fire’s path to slow its movement through the region, but that did not stop leave-now orders being enacted on the almost 2000 residents of Esk and Ravensbourne townships.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday pleaded with people to follow the direction of emergency services. “If you are asked to leave, you must do so,” she said. “There is so much time being taken up by our police about people who do not want to leave.
“This is absolutely fundamental and I need you to listen to authorities. If you are asked to leave, do not argue, please leave. Human life is paramount.”
The number of fires facing emergency services jumped from 82 at 2pm on Sunday to 94 four hours later. A spokeswoman for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said storms in extreme fire conditions could be more of a hindrance than a help, with several new fires likely starting from lightning strikes.
“People think it’s a good thing but it doesn’t always help. Sometimes it is better without it,” she said.
NSW also remains in a state of emergency, with severe fire danger ratings issued for New England, the Northern Slopes and northwestern regions on Saturday. Total fire bans are in effect in those areas, as well as the far north coast, which has been issued a very high fire danger. As of 8pm on Sunday, 60 bushfires were burning across the state.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: EMILY ritchie
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