Hailstones
“And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.”
Isaiah 30:30
“And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.”
Joshua 10:11
Perilous Times and Climate Change
Huge hailstorms rock south-east Queensland, as hail the size of tennis balls wrecks houses and cars, killing one motorist.
Cameron Atfield and Georgia Waters
December 16, 2010 - 8:31AM
Queensland rocked by horrific hailstorms
Huge hailstorms rock south-east Queensland, as hail the size of tennis balls wrecks houses and cars, killing one motorist.
More storms are predicted to hit Brisbane today, a day after tennis ball-sized hail caused havoc in the city's south and east.
Yesterday, a motorcyclist was killed, trains were delayed and tens of thousands of homes were left without power when wild afternoon storms swept through the city during afternoon peak hour.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported hail "between golf and tennis ball size" in the Logan and Bethania areas. Almost 3500 lightning strikes were recorded across southeast Queensland.
A view of lightning over Brisbane's CBD from Kangaroo Point. Photo: brisbanetimes.com.au readerJeff Hoolsema Click for more photos Storm sweeps across Brisbane.
At the height of the storm, more than 43,000 homes were without power. Currently, about 1200 homes and businesses remain blacked out, all in the Jimboomba area.
The SES was called out to more than 100 jobs across the southeast, mostly in the Logan and Beaudesert areas, a spokeswoman said. Most of the jobs were for roof damage caused by hailstones and fallen trees. Weatherzone: Brisbane storm tracker.
SES workers will continue to work on about 30 jobs which remain outstanding this morning.
RACQ Insurance CEO Bradley Heath said more than 300 car damage claims were lodged with the company by the close of business last night.
The organization has also received more than 40 calls regarding damage to homes in the Logan area.
"We encourage people to phone us as soon as possible, we want to start helping people repair the damage as soon as possible, particularly with houses where there is roof damage," he said.
A Logan City Council spokeswoman said extensive roof damage was reported throughout the city.
"A large number of trees are down as a result of the storm, some causing extensive damage to property," she said.
Police said yesterday a motorcyclist was killed when he collided with a vehicle just after 4pm on Mt Cotton Road, near the intersection with Woodlands Drive, Thornlands.
Travellers on the Cleveland rail line experienced delays of up to 30 minutes between Murrarie and Manly due to a track fault caused by the storm.
Services between Murrarie and Manly were suspended in both directions, with buses arranged to transport passengers.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Brett Harrison said thunderstorms were forecast for most of inland southeast Queensland later today.
''We're forecasting the storms for areas west of Brisbane and into the Darling Downs this afternoon and evening,'' he said.
''There's [also] a good chance for storms for coastal areas [and] for Brisbane as well.''
Further storms were expected tomorrow and Saturday afternoon and evenings, he said, before turning into rain areas on Sunday.
It's also expected to be hot from today through to Saturday before cooling down on Sunday.
Temperatures in Brisbane today are expected to reach 32C and climb to 33C tomorrow and 31C on Saturday before dropping back into the high 20s on Sunday, Mr Harrison said.