Storms devastate but rain welcome

A MASSIVE clean-up operation will start today after super cells packing tornado-driven hail cut a swath of devastation across southern Queensland.

The storm began shortly after noon yesterday with “tennis ball”-sized hail falling at Kumbia near Kingaroy, tearing off roofs and even knocking birds from the trees.

As the weather bureau issued warning after warning, rain poured across the southeast and winds and hail did “vast damage” in a belt from Kingaroy to Gympie and on to Maryborough and south of Bundaberg.

Emergency crews helped two women and a baby who suffered cuts when their car was hit by hail near Kingaroy and another person was rescued after lightning dropped a tree on a car at Beaudesert.

The bureau used “tornado” to describe the winds.

At Long Flat near Gympie, Dave Richardson’s tinder dry farm was covered in hail.

Despite the damage from fallen timber on fences he was grateful for the water. “I’ll take it any way you give it to me, frozen or liquid,” he said.

The SES had 250 call-outs, with 160 from Gympie.

Forecaster Adam Blazak said the storms had “produced … roughly tennis ball-sized hail and destructive winds”.