South East Queensland and northern NSW are set to be in the firing line again with severe thunderstorms forecast for the region.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has warned of the threat of severe thunderstorms bringing potentially giant hail, destructive wind gusts, heavy rainfall and even the chance of a tornado to Queensland’s southeast on Tuesday.
The potential for flash flooding is also on the cards after the region saw heavy rainfall over a number of days in October.
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“Basically, severe thunderstorms are possible anywhere east of Charleville tomorrow, and they’re actually likely pretty much anywhere south of Biloela in southeast Queensland tomorrow,” BOM forecaster Robert Urbaniak said.
“In that area where they’re likely, including Dalby, Toowoomba, Brisbane, Maroochydore, Gympie, the Gold Coast, there’s the chance of giant hail — which is greater than 5cm in diameter — along with destructive wind gusts greater than 125km/h and heavy rainfall as well.”
A low pressure trough pushing through central Queensland and heading east towards the coast on Tuesday, will clash with warm and humid air from the coral sea and create the severe thunderstorm conditions.
Possible severe thunderstorms are also forecast for northern NSW around the Northern Rivers area.
Giant hail found in Queensland last year. Credit: 7NEWS
The chances are higher for more severe storm conditions further inland in Queensland, although the east coast is still expected to get a battering.
“There’s also a chance for a tornado or two and that again will be somewhere inland,” Urbaniak said.
“Tornadoes aren’t super common in Australia, but they do occur with severe thunderstorms so it’s a very, potentially, impactful thunderstorm day.”
However, Urbaniak said that if thunderstorms begin early on Tuesday morning the likelihood of severe storms will be reduced.
“If thunderstorm activity is higher in the early morning, that will cool down the environment and potentially make it worse for thunderstorms later in the day,” he said.
There is a moderate fire danger rating in Brisbane and surrounds for Tuesday, while a high fire danger rating is current for aras around Darling Downs, Toowoomba and Dalby.
The wild weather is set to settle on Wednesday, with mostly sunny conditions for the rest of the week.
“Looking forward to the weekend, Saturday you have some storms in Wide Bay and Burnett, even on the Sunshine Coast. Sunday might see a thunderstorm or two for Brisbane, (but) the rest of the week’s looking pretty dry for southeast Queensland.”
BRISBANE WEATHER FORECAST
- Monday: Partly cloudy, Max 32 ⛅️
- Tuesday: Showers. Storms, 21-28 ⛈️
- Wednesday: Sunny, 20-33 ☀️
- Thursday: Sunny, 19-35 ☀️
- Friday: Partly cloudy, 19-28 ⛅️
- Saturday: Possible shower, 19-29 🌧️
- Sunday: Possible shower, 20-30 🌧️
Forecast sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology.
