Damages as storms, hail lash region
WIND gusts up to 120km/h left a trail of debris and destruction across Oakey Thursday night, with trees felled and some properties damaged.
“It was like a little tornado,” Oakey State Emergency Service group leader Trevor Flynn said of the severe storm.
A man was taken to Toowoomba Hospital with neck pain after he crashed his car into a tree brought down across 4AK Rd near Oakey at 6.40pm Thursday - right when the storm hit the town.
The Queensland Ambulance Service reported several trees were brought down and debris littered across the road.
Mr Flynn said a water tank broke through a fence on Sussex Dr, and the Oakey Aquatic Centre building on Campbell St was damaged by a large tree which fell during the storm.
Hail clogged gutters causing ceilings to leak, with the SES fielding six calls for help.
The 120km/h gusts were recorded over a 10-minute period, coinciding with the apparent temperature plummeting to below zero degrees.
The town recorded 35mm in the 24-hours to 9pm Thursday.
Toowoomba was spared the winds and rains but a lightning show lit up the skies as the storm passed the city.
A destructive hailstorm which hit parts of the Southern Downs caused extensive damage to several businesses around Killarney and forced some to close.
Hotter conditions are expected to sweep the Darling Downs and Granite Belt regions this weekend, with top temperatures above 30 degrees forecast, along with the chance of more thunderstorms.