World News – UA – Election Day storms could cause giant hail and flash flooding in parts of Queensland

Severe thunderstorms accompanied by giant hail, damaging winds and flash flooding are expected to hit parts of central and south-eastern Queensland later in the day, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says

Clouds formed over eastern Darling Downs this morning and are expected to move eastward and develop into severe thunderstorms from early to mid-afternoon and into the evening

The storm is caused by a low pressure system in New South Wales, extending a trough all the way along the east coast in Queensland, stopping before Proserpine, north of Rockhampton

BOM forecaster James Thompson said severe thunderstorms were possible along and east of the Great Dividing Range

« [These areas] have the best chance of a severe thunderstorm today, so quite a large part of the coast is, » M said. Thompson

The BOM has also warned of the risk of flash flooding in Brisbane, with more than 60 millimeters of rain expected to be poured over the city within an hour later this afternoon

« With the recent rains, that means the watersheds are a bit more primed than they were earlier in the week, so with heavy rains we might see flash floods, » he said. -he declares

Storms are expected to spread across western Queensland, east of Dalby and Chinchilla in the Darling Downs and east of Clermont in the central highlands

Areas south of Gladstone, Biloela and Thangool, as well as parts of the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast could also be affected

In some areas severe thunderstorms are expected to include hail and damaging winds

« Large to giant hail exceeding two centimeters, damaging wind gusts of more than 90 kilometers per hour and precipitation that can lead to flash floods, » said M Thompson

ABC Emergency has put together a checklist for you to make sure you are prepared for storms and their aftermath

« These isolated severe thunderstorms pose a significant risk today and we ask people to keep an eye on the office website for any warnings

« The best thing you can do to prepare yourself is to bring any items that might fly around, indoors, clean out gutters, and keep valuables away from storms and storms. make sure nothing is going to fly that could damage someone else or their property « 

Storms are expected to leave South East Queensland later this evening and a slight change in wind early next week means most severe thunderstorms will not affect the South East region next week

« We anticipate milder conditions from tomorrow for most of Queensland, just with the slight risk of persistent thunderstorms around the Capricornia coast tomorrow, » M said Thompson

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AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Bureau of Meteorology, Hail, Thunderstorm