An already wet September is set to end with another soaking for many regional Queenslanders, as a band of storms sweeps across much of the state bringing hail, wind and rainfall.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Shane Kennedy said the active system would round out an already unusually wet month, and October was also set to start wet.
"Certainly, September has been well above average for much of the state, particularly southern Queensland, and going into this last week, we're likely to get another drenching a few places," he said.
"Much of the south-west should be largely spared. It will most likely push a bit further east and a bit further north than we have seen previously."
Activity shifts north
Mr Kennedy said an active trough system moving through the central interior would bring widespread unsettled conditions through to the weekend, but unlike last week, the focus would be further north.
"We're expecting to see showers and storms for most of Queensland … it's probably only the far south-west that will stay pretty clear and parts of the north tropical coast," he said.
"There is the risk of seeing some severe thunderstorms. That risk will extend from south of Moranbah down through Emerald … potentially making it to the Lockyer Valley and just inland of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
"We could see some heavy rainfall in those severe thunderstorms ... a bit more hit and miss than what we saw last week, but we could also see some damaging wind gusts and potentially even some giant hail in southern Queensland over the next day or two."
Mr Kennedy said this storm activity would ease into the weekend before reinvigorating early next week.
"It will depend a lot on the timing of that trough as it sweeps through, and we should see a little bit of clearance in the wake of that on Thursday," he said.
"Looking ahead, it's looking like a pretty unsettled week next week with some deep tropical moisture extending over most of the state.
"So it will likely be if you don't get a shower or storm over the next couple of days as most places will, you're quite likely see something early next week."
Flooding easing but risk continues
On Sunday, the Macintyre River at Goondiwindi reached a major flood peak of 8.87 metres but had eased back to moderate levels and continued to fall.
Mr Kennedy said renewed rises in other swollen Queensland rivers were possible, with flash flooding the greatest risk as most catchments were full.
"Most of the flood levels are on the decline, but there is the potential we could see some renewed rises in parts of those south eastern catchments if we get the rainfall in the wrong spots," he said.
"If we see any of those severe thunderstorms get up, then we could certainly see some flash flooding just with catchments so wet.
"Just as we saw late last week around the Gold Coast, it really didn't take too much to see that water rising very quickly."
