HAIL STRIKES THE ATHERTON TABLELANDS FOR SECOND TIME THIS WEEK:

WILD weather lashed the Tablelands for the second day in a row as hail, strong winds and flooding yesterday caused havoc at Atherton and Mareeba.

Ergon Energy reported about 1500 customers were without power and the Bureau of Meteorology issued flash flood warnings.

Late yesterday, the weather bureau said severe thunderstorms were likely to produce damaging winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to large hailstones in areas including Mareeba and Julatten.

Hailstones about 2cm in size were reported at Atherton yesterday at 4pm. Atherton resident Shannon Priestley said it was the most intense hailstorm she had ever seen.

“Stuck in town trying to find shelter, driving home it felt like a flash flood – tree branches flying everywhere,” she said.

Mrs Priestley said her car now sported dents where the hailstones had hit.

About 1500 homes lost power following the storm. An Ergon Energy spokeswoman said crews were being sent out to assess the damage.

Meteorologist Kimba Wong warned thunderstorms developing into severe systems, characterised by strong winds, were likely to continue today.

“There is the possibility those storms will be severe today and there is a medium to high chance of thunderstorms all through the northern tropical coast and Tablelands,” she said.

“With those thunderstorms we can expect a strong out flow of wind.”

The bureau yesterday officially downgraded Cyclone Owen to an ex-cyclone, after the system turned westward and weakened rapidly.

The remnants of Owen may continue to move towards the Queensland coast later this week, bringing heavy rainfall to those areas.