Heavy rain lashed parts of south-east Queensland on Friday, with severe storm activity bringing giant hail, destructive winds and heavy rainfall through the afternoon and evening.
Brisbane was hit both early and late on Friday evening, with rain and intense thunderstorms forming around Ipswich and then heading north-east, passing over the city and surrounding regions on their way out to Moreton Bay.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued earlier in the evening for parts of central Queensland, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall, before the warning was cancelled at 10:07pm.
A similar warning for the Gympie, Somerset, South Burnett, Sunshine Coast and Noosa council areas was cancelled at 8:32pm.
Flood warnings remain in place for the Georgina River and Eyre Creek, as well as the Diamantina River downstream of Diamantina Lakes.
Emergency services had responded to 23 jobs across the state as of 9:50pm, mostly relating to leaky roofs in the Toowoomba and Sunshine Coast regions.
Hailstones between 9cm and 11cm in size were recorded just east of Cecil Plains during the afternoon, with 104kph wind gusts recorded at Oakey at 5:28pm.
The Gayndah Flume Alert weather station, west of Maryborough, recorded 52mm of rain in just 30 minutes earlier on Friday morning.
The bureau had issued warnings earlier in the day for parts of the Central Highlands and Coalfields, Maranoa, Warrego, Darling Downs, and Granite Belt districts for possible heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail.
A severe thunderstorm warning was also issued for areas between Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, but was later downgraded.
BOM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said Friday's severe storm activity would be widespread across the east coast of Australia.
"From the Brisbane area, around south-east Queensland, right [along] the length of the eastern coast of New South Wales, through Eastern Victoria and central Victoria," she said.
Storms could bring patches of heavy rain
Ms Bradbury said parts of Queensland could see up to 50 millimetres of rain over the weekend.
"Those thunderstorm areas, particularly where we get those thunderstorms with heavy rainfall, we could really easily see those totals pushing up 30, 40, 50 millimetres," she said.
"It depends on where the storms develop and how much moisture they manage to tap into.
"Away from the thunderstorms, generally low-to-moderate totals are expected, likely in the order of 10-20 millimetres across the whole weekend."
Easter Sunday sunshine
Ms Bradbury said the main risk of storm activity would ease after Friday.
"The good news is that, as that system moves off the east coast through Saturday, we are going to see that risky storm really clear," she said.
"And, by the time we get to Easter Sunday, we are looking at much more settled conditions."
Ms Bradbury said the far north, around the Cape York Peninsula, could see further showers and isolated thunderstorm activity in the latter part of the long weekend.
