Warning of ‘monster hail’ as storm set to batter south-east
Millions of Queenslanders are in the firing line of a severe thunderstorm, tipped to bring “giant hail”, heavy rain and lightning.
Meteorologists are warning residents in the state’s south-east to brace for a series of severe thunderstorms, after parts of the region were smashed by large hail on Sunday.
In a warning posted to Facebook, Higgins Storm Chasing said “more frequent storms” would batter the region after Sunday’s “supercell” hit.
The page predicted “super-cellular” storms with “nuclear-type cells” would produce “giant hail up to 10cm”.
“A surface trough will inject a very hot and humid Westerly airmass along the ranges onto the coast initially during the day,” the warning said.
“Rapid severe storm development is expected through inland (and) range areas of north east NSW and south east QLD at first with nuclear type cells producing large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall in their early stages.
“A number of these cells will intensify further onto the coastal plain to become super-cellular producing giant hail up to 10cms, destructive winds up to 150km/h and very intense rainfall.”
The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted showers and thunderstorms would lash most of the state on Monday, with the most intense activity forecast south of Rockhampton.
But in a statement to InDaily said: “‘Nuclear’ is not an official meteorological term”.
A spokesperson said thunderstorms over the south-east were likely to be severe on Monday afternoon and into the evening with the potential for large to giant hail, damaging to destructive winds, and heavy rain.
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“These may cause significant damage and disruptions to communities and they can stay up to date with the warnings on our website or app throughout today,” the statement said.
The warning comes after significant storms brought large hail on Sunday causing damage a flight being turned away from Brisbane Airport.
Meanwhile, an extreme heatwave warning is in place for much of the northern half of the state, with temperatures expected to hit the low to mid-40s between now and Wednesday in some places.
