Posted on 12/15/2010 1:13:19 PM PST by steveo
SOUTHEAST Queensland is bracing for more storms after cricket ball-sized hail, lightning and strong winds lashed the region yesterday.
The storm cell knocked out power to 35,000 homes and businesses as it swept through the region.
A motorcyclist died in a crash with a car during a severe hailstorm on Mt Cotton Rd in Thornlands, south of Brisbane, police said.
Trains and road traffic were delayed as commuters were hammered by more than 2500 lightning strikes, localised heavy rainfall and winds gusting to more than 75km/h.
Energex crews were working through the night to restore power to thousands of homes.
It said the worst hit areas were in the Beaudesert-Jimboomba areas, the southern Brisbane suburbs and the southern bayside, especially areas around Wynnum and Manly.
Weather forecaster Tony Wedd said unstable conditions would continue today, bringing the potential for even more violent storms.
Hail as large as cricket balls was reported in the Logan area, causing damage to cars and homes, he said.
Strong winds brought down power lines, branches fell onto other lines and trees were toppled.
The storm caused major disruption to train services on the Cleveland line between Murarrie and Manly.
Because of a signalling problem, passengers were forced to shift to buses, delaying travel by up to 30 minutes.
Officials said it was unclear when the rail fault would be repaired.
International and domestic flights at Brisbane Airport were delayed about 20 minutes during the storm when baggage handlers fled rain and lightning struck the tarmac. An airport spokesman said several flights were affected as the storm hit during peak flying time, from 5pm-5.30pm.
The State Emergency Service said crews had been called out to 169 jobs, including 74 in Logan and 34 in Brisbane.
Crews were repairing roofs damaged by hail and fallen trees and removing trees from roads.
More storms are predicted for the rest of the week.
Flood warnings are still current for 10 regions in Queensland and weather bureau forecaster Bryan Rowlstone warned that more flooding was expected during the weekend, when storms would be joined by rain bands, producing a "double whammy" effect.
"Major storm hit around 5pm last night.......hail the size of your fist, lost 2 trees...one next door into our drive & a small on out the front. All the palm trees around the pool were on a 45 degree angle
Moth got flooded again but not so bad as they were all at work still so managed to sandbag doors.
Storm hit about 10 mins after I got home from Mum's.....sky was green......lots of hail hit windows.....lucky windows are all laminated glass.....
www.couriermail.com.au will no doubt have more pics
Dan & Maddy & Mozza too all want snorkles from Santa....please send ASAP "
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