The roof of a Woolworths supermarket has collapsed after severe thunderstorms ravaged Queensland, bringing hailstones of up to 7cm and downpours of 86mm in just an hour.
The Gold Coast town of Mudgeeraba was hit with 100mm of rain over six hours with 86mm in an hour and 69mm falling in just 30 minutes.
Nearby Burleigh Waters recorded 122mm of rainfall, while 87mm fell in Evandale and 75mm in Carrara.
Hailstones up to 7cm were also recorded north of Injune in the state’s west around 1.20pm on Wednesday afternoon.
Other parts of the state – Central Coast and Whitsundays, Central Highlands and Coalfields, Capricornia and Wide Bay and Burnett Forecast Districts – were also warned of severe thunderstorms.
‘Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, large hailstones and damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Biloela, Blackwater, Moranbah, Baralaba, Marlborough and Mount Morgan,’ the alert states.
A severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rainfall has also been issued for southeast Queensland, including Cherbourg, parts of Gympie and South Burnett Council areas.
More than 2400 Energex customers have also been left without power as of 5.30pm according to the Courier Mail, with 2115 of those in the Moreton Bay region, 110 in the Lockyer Valley, 140 in the Scenic Rim, 58 at Somerset and 14 on the Sunshine Coast.
The roof of Woolworths in Morayfield caved in during the storms. Picture: Contributed
People in affected areas have been advised to park cars undercover away from trees, close doors and windows, keep asthma medications close by, and charge mobile phones and power banks in case of power outages.
People have also been urged to keep pets somewhere safe and not to drive unless you have to.
‘Go inside a strong building now. Stay inside until the storm has passed,’ the warning states.
The alerts come after Queensland was struck by 200,000 lightning strikes in a single day on Tuesday during a spate of wild weather that is set to continue on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
Senior meteorologist Angus Hines, speaking on Wednesday morning, said Queensland should expect to receive more ‘severe thunderstorm’ warnings later in the day as the storms develop.
‘Later on Wednesday, once the storm activity starts to develop, it is likely multiple severe thunderstorm warnings will be issued and updated throughout the second half of the day today, showing where the storms are, where they are tracking over the next couple of hours.’
He said severe storms were ‘most likely’ to occur over inland places west of Toowoomba, but they could not be ruled out elsewhere.
Heavy rainfall is also forecast for the state’s southeast.
‘Along the southeast coast significant accumulations of rain are possible in the next 24 hours, with or without thunderstorms,’ Mr Hines said.
‘Between 50-100mm, possibly even more, could occur along the Queensland coast north of Brisbane, particularly around places like the Sunshine Coast and Noosa.’
The stormy weather follows a wild Tuesday across the southeast.
Weatherzone reports some 200,000 lightning strikes were recorded across the area in the afternoon and into the evening.
The bureau recorded a wind gust of 87km/h at Banana Bank off the Brisbane coast and 54mm of rain at Round Mountain.
‘The severe storms were moving swiftly on Tuesday afternoon … they didn’t stay in one spot for too long,’ Mr Hines said.
Mr Hines said a ‘coastal trough’ along the southeast coast of the state was driving the storm activity.
However Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Christie Johnson said severe thunderstorms across southeast Queensland and northeast NSW are set to ease on Thursday, with ‘just the slight chance of some severe thunderstorms bringing damaging wind gusts in parts of Queensland’.
‘There is still the slight chance of severe thunderstorms bringing damaging winds,’ Ms Johnson said.
Showers are set to continue through north NSW, however they should ease during the day, with Sydney tipped to reach a top of 24C.
Canberra is set for a frosty start, though temperatures are set to reach a high of 23C.
A windy day is forecast for Victoria with a cold front moving through, with temperatures set to hit a high of 20C.
‘There is the potential for damaging wind gusts about the Otways and the central ranges, a severe weather warning is current for that,’ Ms Johnson said.
‘We do have high fire danger through the Mallee as well … above average temperatures through the north and the east.
‘Down in the southwest, where the cold front will arrive a bit earlier, we’ll see below average temperatures.’
Tasmania could experience hail and snow as a cold front crosses during the day, with the state tipped to hit a high of 18C.
‘Ahead of this we’ll see gusty, north-westerly winds tending more westerly behind the front,’ Ms Johnson said.
‘We’ll also see showers extending across particularly through the west and the south. Maybe some small hail with that, maybe even the chance of some snow down to about 800m.’
South Australia will experience mostly dry conditions with below average temperatures through the south, while the far north and northeast will continue to be warm.
‘Adelaide heading for a mostly sunny top of 21C, but with cool southerly winds, the feels like temperature will be more like 15C or 16C during the day,’ Ms Johnson said.
The Northern Territory will continue to experience heat as severe to extreme heatwave warnings remain in place, with temperatures expected to hit a high of 37C.
‘Through the north it continues to be a story of heat,’ Ms Johnson said.
Perth is set to reach a high of 29C on Thursday.
‘We’ll see some showers and thunderstorms through the Kimberley as well, and also that wind surge giving high fire danger across much of the northern territory and also the inland Kimberley,’ Ms Johnson said.
