Southeast Queensland is bracing for the possibility of more storms after a wild Monday brought huge hail, heavy rain, and damaging winds, knocking out power to almost 150,000 homes and businesses.
A cluster of cells swept across the Tweed and Gold Coast early in the afternoon on Monday, with some areas recording hailstones as big as 9cm.
While most of the city saw some action, the cell really gathered steam as it made its way across Logan and up to Brisbane, Moreton Bay, and the Sunshine Coast.
Winds of 120km/h were recorded as the system tracked north, while hail as big as 12cm fell in some areas.
Homes had roofs torn off, trees were brought down, and even some cars were flipped.
More than 800,000 lightning strikes were also recorded across Southeast Queensland on Monday.
More than 900 power lines came down during the storm, knocking out power to more than 140,000 homes and businesses across the region, with the Moreton Bay area the worst affected.
As at 7am on Tuesday, there were still more than 97,000 customers without power, with warnings that it could be several days before it’s fully restored.
The Gold Coast didn’t fare as badly, with around 250 homes losing power at the height of the storms.
More warm and unsettled weather is forecast for Tuesday, with forecasters warning we could see a repeat of yesterday with more severe storms.
“We are expecting thunderstorms across much of the state again today. The focus really is across the southeast of the state,” the BOM’s Jonathon How said.
“So from the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim up towards Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay areas could see severe thunderstorms bringing large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall.
“And this could impact places that were impacted quite heavily last night.”
