‘Giant hail and destructive wind gusts’: Powerful storms set to continue across multiple states

A slow-moving super storm has wreaked havoc in Queensland for days, sparking hundreds of SES callouts.

The SES received 124 calls for help on Friday night, with the majority of calls around the Sunshine Coast region.

The area has recorded rainfall totals of 289mm this month, more than three times the October average of 90mm, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

It has been a wetter than average start to the storm season in the state and residents are not in the clear just yet. 

Airlines are already preparing for potential impacts from Sunday.

“This weather system is going to start to move east tomorrow, so it’s going to bring a broad severe storm risk to western and interior Queensland,” senior meteorologist Felim Hanniffy said.

More isolated and dangerous storms are expected in Queensland on Monday.

“These storms could have the potential to generate giant hail and destructive wind gusts,” Hanniffy said.

“That’s hail greater than five centimetres.”

Powerful spring thunderstorms have also swept through South Australia, bringing widespread rain and dangerous winds.

A sudden burst of wind in Adelaide sent tree branches crashing down across the city and leaving two cars damaged instantly behind a Hyde Park café.

Storms are expected to continue in the city across the weekend.

“All those storms and showers and rain are going to thicken into a rain band during Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday morning,” meteorologist David Crock said.

“For most people the heaviest rain should fall during the night.”

By Sunday, conditions are expected to get worse across central and eastern Victoria, as well as parts of NSW, as the cold front runs into the warm and humid air near the nation’s eastern seaboard.

These conditions will increase the chances of severe thunderstorms across the regions.

The intensifying weather will also increase the chances of flash flooding, damaging winds and large hail.

The forecast has prompted an asthma warning from Victoria’s Acting Chief Health Officer, especially in Victoria’s East Gippsland region, for Sunday.

The warning advises of “a high-risk of epidemic thunderstorm asthma” and sufferers are encouraged to stay indoors and have their medication nearby.

Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Clare Looker said the combination of forecast high grass pollen levels and a certain type of thunderstorm with strong winds means that there is a chance that a large number of people may develop asthma symptoms over a short period of time.

“The safest place to be during the strong wind gusts before and during a thunderstorm is indoors, with windows and doors closed,” Looker said in a statement on Saturday night.

“Asthma can become serious very quickly, so make sure you have your reliever medication with you and call Triple Zero if someone is struggling to breathe or their asthma is not improving.”

Most intense weather yet to come

Forecasters are warning of severe thunderstorms across multiple states the same day, with moving storm clusters likely to merge into squall lines.

There is also the threat of rare and dangerous supercells, powerful rotating storms capable of carrying destructive winds, giant hail, and flash flooding.

Central inland and southern NSW, as well as north-east Victoria, face the highest risk of supercells, while gusty severe storms are forecast for Queensland’s west and the Northern Territory’s south.

Capital cities will also be impacted throughout Sunday, with storms likely hitting Melbourne in the morning, Canberra in the afternoon, and Sydney by the evening.

Brisbane is set for further showers and storms, while Adelaide and Hobart will see wet weather without severe thunderstorm activity.

Cold air trailing the front will bring stability to South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania by Monday, but severe weather will continue pushing across NSW and Queensland.

Monday’s most intense weather is forecast to build over inland Queensland and north-east NSW before potentially moving toward Brisbane and surrounding areas later in the day.

Total rainfall is expected to exceed another 50 millimetres across south-east Queensland and NSW’s north over the coming days.

From Tuesday, thunderstorm activity will mostly head toward the tropics, though weather models indicate another potential outbreak could sweep across central and south-eastern states later in the week.