Severe storms sweep southern Queensland

The storms brought heavy rain and hail to some areas. Spectacular electrical storms have swept across large parts of southern Queensland, causing flash flooding and leaving more than 20,000 properties without power.

The Bureau of Meteorology had been warning of a severe storm all day, so flood-weary residents were not caught off guard when dark clouds descended mid-afternoon.

It says centres affected include Brisbane, Logan, the Gold Coast, Somerset, Redlands, Toowoomba, Dalby and parts of the Gympie, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast, Scenic Rim and South Burnett council areas.

The Brisbane CBD resembled night time at 3:30pm, when lightning and thunder sent workers scuttling indoors.

Thousands of lightning strikes have been detected and the weather bureau recorded heavy rain at Wacol, south-west of Brisbane, where 98mm fell in an hour and 70mm in 30 minutes.

Read more at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/21/3144629.htm?section=justin