Region hit by strong wind gusts

TOOWOOMBA was battered by strong winds across the weekend - at one point reaching 87km/h.

Last week the Bureau of Meteorology warned the Darling Downs could face strong winds accompanied by a storm, and on Saturday afternoon about 3.30pm the storm hit bringing with it 28mm of rain, hail and huge wind.

The Toowoomba weather gauge recorded winds up to 83km/h when the storm hit, and the gauge at Wellcamp recorded 87km/h winds.

While the gusts at those speeds were short lived, strong winds continued to batter Toowoomba on Saturday night and into Sunday and Monday.

Sunday wind gusts reached 54km/h in town and 63km/h at Wellcamp, but throughout the day winds on average sat between 40km/h and 50km/h.

Yesterday winds were up to 44km/h during the day, but they eased off in the evening.

BoM forecaster Lachlan Stoney said the winds were caused by a number of factors.

“There was an inland trough sitting over the south-east interior which triggered some winds and storms. It was helped along by a disturbance in the upper atmosphere which tends to help storms get going and build up energy,” he said.

“Once we get into the late afternoon today the winds will ease off, but we’re expecting them back along with some storms.

“We’re not sure yet if we will get those really high winds back again but we’ll monitor it as we get closer.”

Rain is again expected tomorrow and Thursday with up to 15mm falling each day. This will cause the winds to pick up again with up to 40km/h expected from tomorrow through until Friday.

All this wind and rain is bringing with it cooler temperatures, with the maximums sitting in the mid-20s for the rest of the week.