Giant hail, heavy rain and damaging winds possible for south-east Qld

Severe storms loom for south-east Queensland as northern heatwave continuesBy Charmayne AllisonTopic:WeatherPosted Mon 16 Nov 2026 at 6:45amMon 16 Nov 2026 at 6:45amSevere thunderstorms are possible for south-east Queensland today. (ABC News: Charmayne Allison)In short:Severe thunderstorms are possible for south-east Queensland today.A severe heatwave warning remains in place for the Cape York Peninsula, North Tropical Coast and Tablelands districts.What's next?The Bureau of Meteorology says severe thunderstorm risks are expected to shift north from Tuesday.Severe thunderstorms could bring giant hail, heavy rain and destructive winds to south-east Queensland from midday today, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.Meteorologist Robert Urbaniak said areas south of Hervey Bay down to the Gold Coast and west towards Toowoomba could be in the firing line.Giant hail, heavy rain and damaging winds are possible. (ABC News: Charmayne Allison)"There is a chance for giant hail, which is bigger than 5 centimetres, and intense rainfall and destructive winds greater than 125 kilometres an hour," he said."So that's a big storm day; that's pretty impactful."The bureau said the severe storms were expected to hit from midday and peak between 2pm and 5pm."Regular thunderstorms are possible most other places other than the far south-west," Mr Urbaniak said.Severe heatwave conditions are expected to persist over the coming days. (ABC News: Miriam Mazurek-Kaminska)Severe heatwave warning continuesA severe heatwave warning remains in place for the Cape York Peninsula, North Tropical Coast and Tablelands districts.Weipa has recorded its longest stretch of days with temperatures above 36 degrees Celsius, with 41 days as of Sunday.Mr Urbaniak said this was expected to continue into the coming weekend."By the end of the week it might have recorded 48 days with consecutive daily temperatures above 36 degrees, which is absolutely crazy," he said.A severe heatwave warning is in place for parts of north Queensland. (ABC News: Miriam Mazurek-Kaminska)Meanwhile in southern parts of the state, temperatures are expected to drop midweek."Temperatures will go down to sort of the mid-20s by late this week," Mr Urbaniak said.Wet and stormy weekend for QldThe latest forecasts come after a weekend of wet and stormy weather across parts of the state.Severe storms hit late on Friday and into Saturday morning, particularly around the eastern Darling Downs and near Gatton.Areas south-west of Toowoomba were drenched by up to 80 millimetres in two hours, with up to 60mm in half an hour near Gatton.Severe storm risks are expected to clear south-east Queensland from Tuesday. (ABC News: Charmayne Allison)Storms expected to clear SEQ from TuesdayMr Urbaniak said severe thunderstorm risks were expected to clear south-east Queensland from Tuesday.The focus is then expected to shift to the north of the south-east corner and Capricornia Coast on Tuesday and Wednesday.A new trough is forecast to sweep into far-western Queensland on Thursday and Friday.The bureau said this would bring widespread showers and thunderstorms from the Gulf Country through to Charleville, Augathella and Cunnamulla.