“Severe thunderstorms are on the forecast through this afternoon and this evening, which could do the usual things we see, bringing damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall,” BOM Meteorologist David Crock said.
Severe thunderstorms swept across south-east Queensland and multiple states on Saturday, bringing hail up to 4cm in diameter, heavy rainfall, and a dramatic shift in weather conditions, The Courier Mail reported.
Alpine Snow and Cold Front Sweeps East Coast
The turbulent weather followed an overnight dumping of hailstones reaching up to 10 centimetres on Queensland’s Fraser Coast, according to ABC News. Footage from Maryborough showed hail banking up across roads as supercell thunderstorms formed over parts of Queensland and New South Wales.
According to Weatherzone reporting cited by News.com.au, a cold front dropped temperatures to about 0C with snow flurries and showers hitting alpine regions in Victoria, southern New South Wales, and high peaks in Tasmania weeks out from summer. Senior meteorologist Harry Clarke noted that the “ingredients are in place” for a tornado.
“It still remains highly unlikely that we will actually record one but … this would be one of the higher risk days of seeing that,” Mr Clarke said regarding the potential for tornadoes.
Wind Gusts and Widespread Power Disruptions
Thousands of homes lost power as storm cells tracked across the region. Meteorologist Jonathon How warned that the atmosphere remained highly unstable, threatening destructive wind gusts exceeding 125 kilometres an hour capable of bringing down trees and damaging property.
As the cool change moved up the New South Wales coast, bringing a gusty southerly buster, temperatures in Sydney dropped alongside a sudden temperature plunge of about 10 degrees. Southerly winds are also expected to “take the edge off” some of the higher temperatures, making it feel “much more wintry” outside.
National Forecast and Weekend Temperatures
As for the tropical north, temperatures will be cool on the south-east coast, though meteorologists noted storms are a bit more likely generally from Tennant Creek northwards and across the western Top End.
