Wild Weather Wreaks Havoc Across Australia: ‘Severe’ Heatwaves, Thunderstorms and Hailstones Leave Trail of Destruction
- Millions of Australians bracing for more wild weather as low pressure system surges east
- Nine Queenslanders recovering from nasty injuries caused by hailstones as large as 9cm
- ‘Severe’ heatwaves to sweep northern WA, QLD and NT, with temperatures set to soar
- 21-year-old woman Finley Bone tragically killed by lightning strike in Queensland
Australians are being warned to prepare for another day of wild weather, with a low pressure system bringing rain and thunderstorms to the east coast. The system, which stretched from Adelaide to Alice Springs, picked up steam on Monday morning, bringing a rainy start to the week for Melburnians.
The wet weather is expected to continue throughout the day, with most of the east coast, including Sydney and Brisbane, potentially seeing thunderstorms overnight and into Tuesday. But it’s not just the rain that’s causing concern – ‘severe’ heatwaves are set to sweep northern WA, QLD and NT, with temperatures set to soar.
In Queensland, nine people are recovering from nasty injuries caused by hailstones as large as 9cm. The hailstones, which were reported in towns south of Toowoomba, were described as “quite scary” by Lockyer mayor Tara Milligan. “We had callouts from SES up until about 8pm last night,” she said. “We had about 160 properties which lost power. I understand that they’ve all got their power back.”
The wild weather has already claimed one life – 21-year-old woman Finley Bone, who was tragically killed by a lightning strike at the Cooroy Sporting Complex on Thursday. Her mother, Donna Markert, said the family was in disbelief. “No one can believe this happened,” she told 7NEWS. “Finley was 21 and had her life taken away in a minute.”
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe heatwave warning for the Tiwi and Arnhem region of the NT and Queensland’s Peninsula, North Tropical Coast and Tablelands and Central Coast and Whitsundays regions. “Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people, especially older people, babies, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions and people who are unwell,” the Bureau warns.
EmergencyWA has elevated fire danger ratings to “extreme” in WA’s Midwest Coast, including Northampton and Greater Geraldton, with a total fire ban in place for the Northampton region on Monday.