Storms developed around Warwick early on Tuesday and moved east across the southern half of the South-East, according to Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Felim Hanniffy. Further storms were already active around Ipswich and expected to move across the Brisbane area through the morning and into the afternoon.
"Some of those storms this afternoon and this evening are likely to be severe, with large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall," senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said. "With some of those storms, we could see flash flooding."
Up to 40 millimetres of rain could hit isolated areas on Tuesday, stretching from the NSW border north to Maryborough. The strongest storms were expected to the west and north of Brisbane, and could be felt as far inland as Toowoomba. Rain may continue throughout the week.
Premier David Crisafulli addressed the media from the Kedron Emergency Services Complex in Brisbane on Tuesday, as the storms moved across the region.
The Bureau had warned of potential storms across parts of the region on Tuesday, with chances increasing in the afternoon. The Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane all started with a cloudy and drizzly morning, which lowered but did not remove the risk of afternoon thunderstorms.
Localised falls of 10mm to 30mm were already recorded in areas of the Scenic Rim and the Gold Coast hinterland.