Weather News

30,000 lightning strikes blitz Brisbane

Anthony Sharwood, Tuesday October 8, 2024 - 19:16 AEDT

A band of severe thunderstorms has lashed Brisbane and nearby areas late on Tuesday afternoon and into the early evening, and the dangerous weather has not cleared as darkness approaches.

More than seven thousand homes were reportedly without power at 5:15pm local time, as almost 200,000 thousand lightning strikes were recorded over southeast Queensland.

As you can see on the radar loop below (where pink shows heat generated by lightning), Brisbane copped more than its share of lightning, with 50,000 strikes recorded over the city and suburbs.

Image: The energetic storms covered an area from northern NSW to the Sunshine Coast, and also stretched out to the northwest of Brisbane.

Hail was reported in many areas, while intense rainfall totals were recorded over relatively brief periods, including:

44.4mm in 30 minutes at Beerburrum on the Sunshine Coast.

Brisbane recorded 17.8mm to 5:30pm however there is the prospect of further intense bursts of rain later on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday.

Strong, potentially damaging wind gusts were also a feature of this afternoon’s weather, with several gusts exceeding 80 km/h recorded at multiple locations during thunderstorms.

Dramatic temperature drops within a short period occurred at several locations, including Brisbane plummeting from 31°C at 12:30pm to just 21.7°C at 3:30pm.

Indeed, it was the unstable combination of very warm air and a cooler airmass moving in from the south that fuelled the intensity of these storms.

Welcome to the first storm of the season #hail #storm #brisbane pic.twitter.com/qfoEKrYd0L

— ????Charisse???? ???????? (@Charisse77) October 8, 2024

A severe thunderstorm warning is still in place for southeast Queensland for parts of the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane City and Moreton Bay Council Areas. Please check our warnings page for the latest.

- Weatherzone

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