Parts of south-east Queensland have been hit by giant hailstones with the region on alert for more storm activity, including damaging winds and heavy rainfall on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people are without power as storms move through.<\/p>\n
At Pratten, west of Warwick in the Southern Downs region, nine centimetre giant hail \u2014 large enough to cause damage to cars and homes \u2014 was reported at about 1pm.<\/p>\n
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At MJ’s Cafe in the rural township, about two-and-a-half hours west of Brisbane, opening day turned chaotic when “tennis ball-sized hail” hit.<\/p>\n
Owner Richard Manley said the roof was entirely “smashed in” when the storm moved quickly through town.<\/p>\n
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Mr Manley says he has been left with a huge clean-up, with “almost tennis ball sized” hail falling. (Supplied: Richard Manley)<\/p>\n
“We basically had everyone huddled in our kitchen area because the roof came down in the actual bar area,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There was golf ball-sized hail coming into the bar smashing into the counter.”<\/p>\n
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The giant hail caused damage to windscreens in Pratten. (Supplied: Richard Manley)<\/p>\n
Several motorists with smashed windscreens pulled in seeking shelter, he said.<\/p>\n
“We had about thirty people who were driving past, their car windows getting smashed and they saw refuge and they just pulled in,” Mr Manley said.<\/p>\n
Thousands without power<\/p>\n
In Clifton, near Toowoomba, Julie Blurton had golf ball-sized hailstones smash through the skylight and windows at her cafe at about 2pm.<\/p>\n
“There’s crockery that’s all been smashed from the hailstones coming in through the roof,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Blurton said the storm came in two waves and moved quickly, lasting for 20 minutes and leaving a trail of destruction behind it.<\/p>\n
She said many of the trees in the street were stripped bare and parked cars had their windows shattered.<\/p>\n
“It’s all a very big mess,” she said.Loading…<\/p>\n
The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm activity near Toowoomba could be categorised as a supercell.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the ABC at 3pm on Saturday, senior meteorologist Harry Clarke said the weather bureau was keeping a close eye on that supercell, which was sitting north of Gatton.<\/p>\n
“We are currently tracking that cell, it’s had a history of producing giant hail in parts of the Darling Downs,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s a very dangerous storm for that reason alone … it is a very dynamic situation.”<\/p>\n
Mr Clarke urged people to keep up with warnings.<\/p>\n
He said lightning had been reported from Strathpine in the Moreton region all the way to the New South Wales border.<\/p>\n
More than 3,000 people across south-east Queensland were without power, according to Energex and Ergon.<\/p>\n
The Toowoomba, Logan and Maranoa areas were among the most heavily impacted.<\/p>\n
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The storm was still brewing near Munbilla in the Scenic Rim around 1:40pm. (Supplied: Natalie Ward)<\/p>\n
In the Scenic Rim, two centimetre hailstones were reported at Mount Walker.<\/p>\n
The bureau has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for large parts of south-east Queensland, the Darling Downs as well as parts of central Queensland.<\/p>\n
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