Severe Storms Threaten Southeast QLD, NSW

First, let's have a look at Friday, and the thunderstorm outlook map shows that thunderstorms are possible over a very broad area of eastern Australia, all the way from Victoria and up into northern Queensland. The focus though, will be across north-east New South Wales to the south-east and central Queensland. This is where we have an area of yellow where severe thunderstorms are possible. Severe thunderstorms may bring heavy rain, large hail, as well as damaging winds. We also have an area of red where severe thunderstorms are likely. This extends all the way from Hervey Bay up towards Rockhampton. And through this red area we may see giant hail later in the day today and that's hail bigger than 5 cm in diameter.

In southern parts of New South Wales, you may also see some gusty thunderstorms developing into the afternoon and evening through the Riverina. And these thunderstorms here really peak as we head into the afternoon, but they could last all the way late into Friday night as well as Saturday morning.

And so, Saturday, we see the area of severity very much expands all the way from the Mid North Coast of New South Wales and up into the Central Highlands of Queensland and inland to many communities through there. If we zoom in, we can see the focus very much across north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland. The areas in yellow again may see heavy rainfall, large hail, and damaging winds. But importantly, we have a very large area where severe thunderstorms are likely in red. This includes Brisbane, parts of the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and inland communities like Toowoomba, Dalby, and Kingaroy, and down towards Glen Innes and Moree in northern parts of New South Wales. Through the red area, we may see life-threatening flash flooding with intense rainfall, giant hail, and destructive winds. And with some of these more intense supercell thunderstorms moving through, we can't rule out the possibility of tornadoes. So do make sure you have the latest information and warnings as we head into Saturday.

For impacts, what can we expect? With large hail and destructive winds, this could cause damage to trees and property. Flash flooding can make travel and driving conditions quite dangerous. With some of those more intense thunderstorms, we could also see power and utility outages through the day.

So now, let's have a bit of a closer day-by-day look. Starting off with Friday, we can see across eastern Australia a number of surface troughs is dragging a lot of moisture and creating very unstable conditions right across the eastern seaboard. We do see showers and thunderstorms really peaking into the afternoon and early evening across Queensland and New South Wales. And plenty of showers and thunderstorms right across the south-east of the country. We do see showers and thunderstorms again persisting into night as we head into Saturday morning as well.

Through Saturday, we do see this trough move slightly closer towards the coast, that'll combine with the wind change moving up the coast, as you can see here, really peaking into the afternoon and evening, with areas of very heavy rainfall also indicating the potential for severe thunderstorms through Saturday afternoon and evening. And, as we head into the evening, we could also see some thunderstorms persisting into Sunday morning.

Sunday, though, we do see conditions really starting to ease up, still the potential for showers and very isolated thunderstorms across the east coast. But really, Saturday will be the peak of the storm day.

So with severe thunderstorms coming for large populated areas, it is important that you have the latest information and warnings for your area. You can get these on our website, as well as our app, follow us on social media and, as always, please stay safe.