SEQ on alert for potentially destructive storms
Senior forecaster Baden Gilbert said the risk extended from the coast, west to Toowoomba, and as far north as Rainbow Beach. He said the area with the greatest risk was the south-east interior, from places such as Boonah and Beaudesert in the Scenic Rim, up through the Lockyer Valley, including areas around Ipswich, and into Kilcoy and Esk. “There is also a risk in that area of getting some very dangerous thunderstorms, so storms that have either destructive wind gusts or giant hail are not impossible,” Gilbert said. “If we get a really big [storm] cell going – and, you know, everything lines up – there could be a risk of heavy rainfall as well, but there’s not as much moisture around.” The trough will move off the coast by Sunday, with the forecast also noting the potential for thunderstorms along the coastal fringe in the early morning.