Severe thunderstorms expected for the east of Australia

Australian Community Media

Lower Queensland and upper NSW in the firing line as severe thunderstorms move over coastline.

Transcript

00:00Severe thunderstorms are going to impact eastern Australia over the next few days, bringing

00:05significant and disruptive weather to parts of Queensland and New South Wales.

00:09This is the radar imagery from late this morning, Thursday morning, showing an area of thunderstorms

00:14just south of the state border.

00:16Now these storms are forecast to move offshore in the next hour or two, but throughout Thursday

00:21afternoon, more storms are forecast to develop.

00:25So we'll get right into the thunderstorm outlook for the day.

00:28The green areas show where we might see thunderstorms which are not severe, but the main focus

00:33for severe weather will be in the yellow and red areas, so let's zoom in for a slightly

00:37closer look.

00:38Severe thunderstorms through Thursday afternoon are likely to occur in this red area, which

00:43stretches from Gympie into the far northern Tablelands, across the state border into New

00:47South Wales.

00:48Severe thunderstorms are possible in the yellow area, which goes up through the Wide Bay Burnet

00:53and into the southern Capricornia, and extends further south into the northern Tablelands,

00:57nearly as far as Tamworth.

00:59For most areas, note that these yellow and red areas are a little bit away from the coast,

01:03suggesting those highest risk areas in southeast Queensland are the Gold Coast Hinterlands,

01:08the Lockyer Valley and the Eastern Downs, as well as western parts of Brisbane and the

01:13Sunshine Coast.

01:15Where severe storms do develop today, they can bring a wide array of weather impacts.

01:19For today we are expecting no different, with damaging to destructive winds possible with

01:25these storms.

01:26That means we could easily see gusts in excess of 100km an hour, potentially up over 120km.

01:32Large to giant hailstones are possible, meaning we may see hailstones in excess of 5cm across,

01:39which can also cause significant damage.

01:41There could also be some heavy rain, which may lead to localised flash flooding.

01:45Rainfall today doesn't look to be as big of a risk as it has been in some of the recent

01:49storm outbreaks, but isolated spots could still see 50-70mm underneath these thunderstorms.

01:55If you don't have a storm move overhead, then you'll probably stay in the single digits,

01:59or you might get no rain at all.

02:02Some of the major impacts expected with today's storms are damage to property.

02:06That can range from outdoor furniture and fences, through to trampolines and possibly

02:10even things like roof tiles and roof lights if that wind really cranks up.

02:15Areas that do see heavy rain could see road closures and detours, potentially even caused

02:19by some large hail.

02:20And we can also see damage to crops, trees, property and power lines, with the combination

02:25of wind, rain and hail.

02:27It will be another stormy afternoon on Friday.

02:29This is now tomorrow's chart, with severe storms possible in northeast New South Wales,

02:34and likely for a smaller area through the Wide Bay Burnet region in Queensland, possible

02:39severe storms stretching up into the Central Tablelands as well.

02:42And while we're at it, we'll take a quick look at how the weekend is shaping up.

02:46The risk across New South Wales diminishes quickly during the weekend because of this

02:50high pressure area which builds east of the country.

02:53However there will still be a trough lingering through central parts of Queensland where

02:58further storm development is likely.

03:00It currently looks like that will miss the southeast, but parts of the central coast

03:04Wide Bay up into central and even western Queensland could be in line for a stormy weekend.

03:09So a few days where it will be a good idea to keep an eye on your forecast, the weather

03:13radar and any severe thunderstorm warnings that get issued near your neighbourhood.

03:18All that information is available on the Bureau website.

03:20Thanks for checking in and watching this video.

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