Some Sunshine Coast residents are picking up the pieces after a weekend of wild weather, amid predictions of one more round of storms.
Boats drifted away, giant hail fell and lightning splintered trees during multiple events from Friday to Sunday, following the tragic death of Finley Bone.
There was limited rainfall but the storms made their impacts felt in several locations.
Mooloolaba Coast Guard commander Lee Campbell urged boaties to be better prepared for summer, after four vessels came free from their moorings in the Mooloolah River.
Bryan Castle captured footage of a catamaran crashing into a pontoon, while two other boats became marooned in the shallows and another was taken to a safe mooring by the Coast Guard.
Want more free local news? Follow Sunshine Coast News on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up for our FREE daily news email.
“The boats did not have enough scope out – enough lead on their anchors to cope with the rise of tides and strong (30-knot) winds,” Mr Campbell said.
“The boats just pulled the anchor out of the ground and drifted away.”
He said there had been six similar incidents during the past year.
“People don’t heed the strong wind warnings and check their vessels to make them secure. It’s an ongoing problem,” he said.
Hail hit some parts of the region, including at Baringa, where chunks up to 7cm were recorded.
Michelle Steley was among those caught out by the weather.
“Dropped into IGA at Kawana and seconds later the heavens opened,” she said via Higgins Storm Chasing’s social media.
“All I could do was stand inside and watch my car get smashed by hail with some the size of golf balls.”
Krystale Edwards said she was hurt by the hail.
“I stepped on the verandah to move the plants as the wind picked up and I swear the first bit of hail to fall smacked me straight in the forehead. A little bit of blood and headache,” she said.
Several locals posted photos of lightning.
Lulu Springbrok’s images showed spectacular strikes hitting Bulcock Beach.
Eight people were rescued from the surf.
SLSQ general manager public safety and emergency management Matt Thompson said conditions were volatile.
“We have had a lot of storm activity to contend with and changing surf conditions, which brings with it a higher chance of beachgoers being caught out when conditions shift or they underestimate their capabilities in the ocean,” he said.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Livio Regano said other regions of the state’s south-east bore the brunt of the wild weather but the Sunshine Coast was still affected.
“It’s easy to forecast whether conditions are ideal for thunderstorms, but we can’t forecast exactly where they will be and how severe they will be,” he said.
“All the big hail fell on the Darling Downs.
“By the time the storms got to the Sunshine Coast, they were pretty nasty still and had some quite strong gusts but rainfall totals were not particularly big, lots in the 30mm to 40mm range, with most of these in the hinterland.”
He said the right “ingredients” were present for storms including humidity, warm northerly wind, cold air above warm air, and wind shear (dramatic wind changes in the first few layers of the atmosphere).
Mr Regano said some of the storms weakened by the time they hit the Sunshine Coast.
“Normally, what happens is storms form over land and, more often than not, high-altitude winds blow from the west and carry them to the coast. They could make it there in one piece or they could weaken (usually because of the sea breeze), which they did to some extent on the Sunshine Coast,” he said.
He said a final round of storms was forecast for the region on Monday night and on Tuesday morning, before the arrival of clear and cooler conditions.
“There are some changes (coming),” he said.
“We’ve got a cold front approaching from the west. Storms usually build ahead of a cold front and, once it goes through, probably around mid-morning, it will start to clear up, the humidity will drop, and the temperature as well. So, there will be a cool change.”
It should be dry with temperatures from 16 to 27 degrees Celsius for the next few days.
Meanwhile, a record was broken at Sunshine Coast Airport last week, when the temperature hit an October high of 39 degrees Celsius.
“Normally, at the airport, the sea breeze kicks in but the westerly was so strong it fought the sea breeze out and it was 4pm and the temperature was still rising,” he said.
Figures have been collected there since 1994.
