Severe winds and cold snap hit the Sunshine State

Gale-force winds and plummeting temperatures have hit Queensland causing flights chaos on the eastern seaboard.

Wet and stormy weather that is affecting Sydney and NSW is reaching as far north as Brisbane. Picture: NewsWire

Severe wind gusts of up to 100km/h have hit Southeast Queensland as the state feels the impact of a “bomb cyclone” that has caused flash flooding to parts of New South Wales.

Strong winds battered the southeast on Wednesday, making temperatures feel a lot colder than what they actually were.

Brisbane woke to a chilly 10.6C but with those strong wind gusts the temperature felt more like 5.1C.

On the Sunshine Coast, temperatures dropped to 5.6C but it felt more like 1.3C. Ipswich woke to 8.5C but recorded an apparent minimum of 2C.

Recorded wind gusts of between 50-70km/h were recorded in the southeast.

Weatherzone meteorologist Nicholas Thomson said wind gusts in the north towards the Sunshine Coast were a bit weaker but were stronger about the ranges.

A damaging wind gusts warning has been issued for elevated areas in parts of the southeast, with winds of up 90-100k/h forecast.

Mr Thomson said the heavy winds were being caused by a low pressure system off the NSW coast and are expected to ease over the next 24 hours.

“Those winds will remain pretty gusty until about Thursday morning and start to ease throughout the afternoon,” he said.

Dozens of flights were cancelled on Wednesday morning as a result of wild weather in Sydney with runway restrictions expected to be enforced later in the day.

Earlier, eight flights to Sydney and eight flights into Brisbane from Sydney had been scrapped, a Brisbane Airport spokeswoman said.

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman said their schedule continued to be impacted by adverse weather in Sydney and Newcastle, and guests should monitor their flight status on the airline’s website or app.

“The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority, and our meteorologists continue to monitor the weather system in Sydney closely,” a spokeswoman said.

“We regret the impact of this on guests’ travel plans and are working hard to re-accommodate impacted guests and ensure they reach their destination as soon as possible.”

It follows significant disruption to travellers on Tuesday, with scores of flights across the eastern seaboard scrapped, as gale force winds and heavy rain whipped up hazardous conditions.

On Tuesday evening, four flights from Melbourne to Sydney were forced to turn back due to the weather, and the risk of lengthy holding patterns that would’ve pushed the flight time into the curfew period.

Jetstar also cancelled their Phuket service from Melbourne after the plane wing hit a hanger while it was being towed to the gate.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said he empathised with those who had been impacted by the wild weather.

“This state is no stranger to dealing with events like this,” he said.

“People will make the right call on when to travel and, no doubt, the airlines will do the same.”