Major storm leaves thousands without power in Queensland
Thousands of Queenslanders are waking up today without power after a major thunderstorm in the south-east last night.
There were about 60 calls to emergency services, mostly in the Moreton Bay region north of Brisbane, as wild winds brought down trees and heavy rain saw ceilings leak.
Falls of between 50mm and 90mm were recorded across the state's south-east.
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A major storm has hammered south-east Queensland. Today
The peak was 128mm at Rothwell.
A spectacular light display also lit up the region as lightning strikes hammered down.
One strike sparked a ceiling fire in a home in Scarborough, north of Brisbane.
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Trees were brought down across the region. Today
About 16,000 people were left without power, and a quarter of those are still going to be waking up in the dark this morning.
Crews are working to restore it.
It comes as Australia faces the prospect of switching from a year of devastating floods, to the prospect of bushfires.
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Thousands of homes remain without power. Today
Early climate models suggest the consecutive string of La Ninas that have brought above-average rain and cooler temperatures in recent years might switch in 2023 to an El Nino.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) yesterday released its latest climate driver update, stating ocean temperatures "remain warmer than average in the western Pacific".
Models indicate sea-surface temperatures may exceed El Nino thresholds in the equatorial Pacific by June.
El Nino systems are characterised in Australia by drought conditions, heatwaves, and bushfires, especially over summer.
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