Overview
- The Bureau of Meteorology has active severe thunderstorm warnings for the Southeast Coast, Wide Bay and Burnett, and Capricornia, citing damaging winds, large hail and heavy rain.
- Weatherzone and BOM expect storm activity to ramp up through Friday and peak on Saturday, when supercells are possible and isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
- A volatile pattern could deliver thunderstorms on multiple consecutive days across eastern Australia, with daily severe risk forecast into early next week.
- A 21-year-old woman died after a lightning strike at a sporting complex in Cooroy on the Sunshine Coast on Thursday evening, according to local reports.
- Far-north and western Queensland face concurrent heatwave conditions, with BOM forecasting temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s including 40–42°C in Birdsville.