Thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding predicted for much of Australia

Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain will sweep across most Australian states this weekend, adding to the deluge in an already drenched Queensland.

Flash flooding in south-east Queensland this week prompted hundreds of SES callouts and the closure of multiple schools. On Saturday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology had nine flood warnings in place for south Queensland.

The BoM is now warning of severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding across South Australia, Victoria, NSW, Tasmania.

Senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, David Crock, said severe thunderstorms and heavy rain were forecast across multiple locations in central and eastern Queensland on Saturday, including Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, the Sunshine Coast hinterlands and Roma.

Severe storms could also sweep through parts of Victoria, including Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and central and eastern South Australia. Heavy rain is expected to develop in Tasmania overnight into Sunday morning.

“There’s plenty of rain across the south-east, as well as plenty of showers and storms and rain across much of Queensland as well, after what’s already been a really wet week,” Crock said.

The cold front will move across NSW on Sunday, bringing severe thunderstorms to the west of the state as well as north-eastern Victoria, Sydney and Brisbane.

“Tomorrow is a threat for thunderstorms right across eastern Australia, with severe thunderstorms likely through a wide part of inland eastern Australia,” he said.

This week, multiple areas in Queensland were hit by more than twice their average October rainfall across a few days.

“It was an incredibly wet week in Queensland. Much more typical of summer or January or February than this time of year,” Crock said.

The Sunshine Coast hinterlands and Caboolture were hit by flash flooding and recorded a seven-day rainfall total of 300-400mm of rain, with some areas reaching 450mm.

“It’s been notable how persistent this weather pattern has been, how much moisture has pumped in … then how those rainfall totals have accumulated across seven to 10 days through Queensland and northern New South Wales,” Crock said.

On Thursday, torrential rain in south-east Queensland caused flash flooding, water rescues and hundreds of calls for help while several schools were forced to close on Friday.

Thursday’s heavy rain stretched from Caboolture down to the Border Ranges, with some places copping well over 200mm falls.

The Queensland fire department carried out more than 16 swift-water rescues, including using a raft to retrieve an elderly man clinging to the roof of his vehicle at Caboolture.