Destructive winds and giant hail rained down on southeast Queensland overnight as a heatwave continues to stir up wild weather in the region.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning around 2.45pm on Thursday as “very dangerous” thunderstorms threatened north and south of Gympie.
“We had nasty storms yesterday and plenty of large hail – even giant hail,” meteorologist Rob Sharpe said on Sky News on Friday.
Sexton residents – northwest of Gympie – reported hailstones as wide as 10cm while residents of Mt Kilcoy recorded 5cm ice balls falling from the sky.
Severe thunderstorms were active across the Sunshine Coast and headed towards Noosa and Maroochydore on Thursday afternoon.
A wind gust of 122km/h was reported at Gayndah airport – north of the Sunshine Coast – at 3.30pm.
At least 4,500 people lost power overnight.
The immediate threat of severe storms has eased for the South East about 7.30pm but are likely to redevelop in the coming days, the Bureau warned.
Thunderstorms are likely to return around central-east Queensland in Rockhampton and Gladstone.
Meanwhile, residents in the northern part of the sunshine state continue to grapple with an intense heatwave.
The Bureau issued an extreme heatwave warning for the Peninsula, Gulf Country, Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders and Herbert and Lower Burdekin Districts.
The North Tropical Coast and Tablelands, Central Coast and Whitsundays, Central Highlands and Coalfields, Central West and North West Districts are also expected to swelter through a severe heatwave.
The extreme heat is likely to stick around until early next week when a cool change is ushered in with more forecasted thunderstorms and rainfall.
It comes after Brisbane residents woke on Thursday to the aftermath of intense thunderstorms.
A 1.5m wide sinkhole opened on a crucial inner west arterial road on Thursday morning, delaying morning traffic.
