Weather News

Fierce morning storm lashes Byron Bay, Gold Coast

Anthony Sharwood, Thursday January 23, 2025 - 11:29 AEDT

An intense morning storm has crossed the Northern Rivers district of NSW and parts of Queensland’s Gold Coast, delivering intense rainfall and extremely strong wind gusts.

The storm roared in from the southwest as remnants of the cool coastal airmass which shaved ten degrees off Sydney temperatures in under an hour on Thursday pushed north to the Queensland border.

A 119 km/h wind gust was observed at Australia's most easterly point, Cape Byron, at 9:43am AEDT.

A 93 km/h wind gust was observed at Gold Coast Airport (Coolangatta) at 8:52am AEST (so within a few minutes of the Cape Byron gust when you adjust for daylight saving).

34.2mm of rain was recorded at Coolangatta, most of it in less than an hour.

20.8mm fell at Ballina, most of it in less than an hour.

Image: Three-hour combined satellite and radar loop showing the storm on the morning of Thursday, January 23, 2025.

The most intense impacts of the storm were fairly localised, with weather stations on the northern end of the Gold Coast remaining dry. For example, the Gold Coast Seaway, located on the shore of The Spit, received not a drop of rain. Brisbane also missed out.

Image: Approximately 481,000 lightning strikes were detected within 400km of Lismore on Thursday morning.

Despite Thursday's brief influx of coolish air with southerly origins, heat will rapidly re-intensify in southeast Queensland and northeast NSW on Thursday.

Brisbane is heading for a top of 37°C on Friday. The city’s hottest day to date in the 2024/25 summer was 37.4°C on January 16.

Maximums will be around 30°C along the coast in northern NSW with a steamy afternoon reaching up to 35°C in nearby inland towns like Lismore and Murwillumbah, with the humidity making it feel more like 40 degrees.

- Weatherzone

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