Let's have a look at the satellite, and over the past 24 hours we have seen quite a shift in the weather across eastern parts of Australia. This follows record-breaking heat on Monday across parts of south-east Queensland and north-eastern parts of New South Wales.
Overnight into Tuesday morning, cooler southerly winds pushed through, and a lot of cloud has started to develop. That's associated with a number of surface troughs across eastern parts of the country.
Through Tuesday morning, this cloud started to move towards the coast, and on the radar we can see a few showers, areas of rain starting to pop up, as well as thunderstorms through northern parts of Queensland.
For the rest of Tuesday, rain is expected to become more widespread, along with the possibility of thunderstorms. The thunderstorm outlook map shows storms possible from northern inland New South Wales up towards northern parts of Australia.
Zooming in on Queensland, the areas in yellow show where severe thunderstorms could develop later today - including parts of the Capricornia, up towards Mackay and into the Central Highlands. This includes places like Moranbah and Emerald. If severe thunderstorms develop, they could bring heavy rain, large hail, and damaging winds.
For New South Wales, the risk of severe thunderstorms is through the north-western slopes and plains, from Moree down towards Cobar, where damaging winds could develop. If severe thunderstorms occur, warnings will be issued, so keep an eye on the latest information for your area.
On Wednesday, thunderstorms continue, but the risk of severe storms contracts towards the Queensland coast from Bundaberg up towards Townsville. Thunderstorms remain possible across north-eastern New South Wales and the north of the country, with the focus along the Queensland coast. Large hail and damaging winds are possible.
On Thursday and Friday, showers and thunderstorms will persist, and some could still become severe later in the week.
Looking at the synoptic map for Tuesday, several surface troughs are generating widespread showers, rain, and thunderstorms, peaking in the afternoon and evening. The focus will be across south-eastern Queensland, including Brisbane, and into north-eastern New South Wales.
These areas could see 20 to 50 mm of rain, with higher isolated falls possible from thunderstorms, which could lead to flash flooding.
By Wednesday, the surface trough and low start to gradually move off the coast, but cooler southerly winds continue to bring showers along the coast and the possibility of isolated thunderstorms.
Through Thursday and the rest of the week, a showery pattern continues across eastern Australia from Queensland down into New South Wales. On Friday, isolated showers may push into far south-eastern parts of the country as the next trough approaches from the west.
For Queensland and New South Wales today, there's a risk of rain and severe thunderstorms. Keep an eye on the latest warnings for your area. You can get these on our website and app.
