World News – UA – Funnel cloud spotted, roads flood as storms batter SEQ

A funnel cloud was seen in the Southern Downs as storms battered South East Queensland, flooding Brisbane roads and prompting office warnings of hail and strong winds

The Bureau of Meteorology was monitoring severe storms across the region on Tuesday afternoon as the storm threat approached the coast, resulting in a system stretching from Caboolture to Beenleigh

The storms, which the bureau said brought « heavy rains that could lead to life-threatening flash floods », were expected to continue east, hitting Deception Bay and Bribie Island at 5 a.m.8 p.m.

As the rain passed over Brisbane by 530am, it wreaked havoc on commuters, with authorities warning motorists to avoid flooded roads around the city and surrounding suburbs

Heavy congestion in the CBD was also causing bus delays of up to 30 minutes Westbound lanes of the city center bypass were briefly closed at the RNA Showground tunnel due to water on the road , warned toll provider Linkt Two remained closed at 550 p.m.

A total of 80 millimeters had fallen at Beachmere in the Moreton Bay area within the hour at 4 p.m. with 48 millimeters recorded in an hour at Kalbar, southwest of Brisbane, as well as reports of hail hitting Toowoomba in the Darling Downs

At the Upper Lockyer gauge in the office near Helidon, a total of 70 millimeters had been recorded in six hours until 4 p.m. Totals over 50 millimeters were also seen near Kingaroy and north of Gympie

Meteorologist Rosa Hoff said damaging winds of up to 90 km / h could also be expected and heavy rains leading to flash floods, as well as potential development of « supercells »

Up to 20 millimeters were projected to fall over Brisbane and the Gold Coast on Tuesday, with up to 40 millimeters over the Sunshine Coast and higher isolated totals of up to 100 millimeters below the thunderstorm cells

« But as we head into tomorrow, the increased chances of severe storms developing near Brisbane »

She said the office had received reports of the « funnel cloud » which was an indicator that conditions could have led to something more extreme

« This is a bit of an indicator that we could have potentially seen severe thunderstorms developing today which may have led to the genesis of a tornado, but it is not what happened. past, « Ms. Hoff said

« These in-flight funnels are very deceptive and the only way to rule out their threat is to look for clear signs of spinning in the surrounding clouds, » says the Storm Spotters office manual

More than 5,500 homes in the southeast were without power at 4 p.m. Tuesday, mainly in the Lockyer Valley and Somerset areas

Flooding above train lines in Eudlo had also caused service on the Sunshine Coast line to Mooloolah to be suspended, commuters warned by TransLink to expect delays of up to 30 minutes

The storms followed a wave of wild weather this weekend, leading to the filing of 458 insurance claims with the RACQ

The two troughs causing the storms are expected to ease Thursday with drier conditions leading to high fire danger forecasts in the west-central and Maranoa and Warrego regions

The most important news, in your inbox, at the start and end of each day Sign up for the Brisbane Times newsletter here

Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland, Hail, Flood