Brisbane battered by ‘giant hail’ as severe thunderstorms leave thousands in Queensland with power outages | Queensland

Tens of thousands of people were left without power as severe storms brought devastating winds, massive hail and heavy rain to southeast Queensland.

The Bureau of Meteorology said hail of 6 to 8cm was reported in Tamrookum, Coombabah and Mount Tamborine.

“Very dangerous thunderstorms are heading towards Brisbane’s southern and eastern suburbs and giant hail is already being observed. Damaging destructive winds are also possible,” the BoM said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

“Further storms are likely to develop across south-east Qld this afternoon as they continue to move northwards.”

Energex’s Justin Coomber told ABC radio more than 138,000 customers had lost power in south-east Queensland.

“At the same time, we received reports of approximately 300 power lines being downed,” he said.

Residents near Logan shared images on social media of giant hail balls, some larger than 8cm.

“I’ve never seen hail in Eagleby in the 5 years I’ve lived here,” one Logan man wrote on social media.

A heatwave has also been issued in the north of the state, with temperatures rising into the mid-forties in parts of Queensland over the coming days.