Severe Thunderstorms and Flash Flooding Forecast Across Much of Australia as Queensland Records Up to 450mm of Rain in Seven Days

Severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding have been forecast across most Australian states this weekend, adding to the deluge in an already drenched Queensland.

Flash flooding in south-east Queensland this week prompted hundreds of callouts to the emergency service SES and forced the closure of multiple schools. On Saturday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology had nine flood warnings in place for southern Queensland.

The bureau is now warning of severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. The danger, in other words, is not confined to Queensland but is spreading across a wide part of the country's south-east.

Senior Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist David Crock said severe thunderstorms and heavy rain were forecast on Saturday across multiple locations in central and eastern Queensland, including Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, the Sunshine Coast hinterland and Roma.

Severe storms could also sweep through parts of Victoria, including Melbourne's eastern suburbs, and central and eastern South Australia. Heavy rain is expected to develop in Tasmania overnight into Sunday morning.

'There's plenty of rain across the south-east, as well as plenty of showers and storms and rain across much of Queensland as well, after what's already been a really wet week,' Crock said. His remarks underline that the new rain is falling on ground already saturated.

A cold front will move across New South Wales on Sunday, bringing severe thunderstorms to the west of the state as well as north-eastern Victoria, Sydney and Brisbane.

'Tomorrow is a threat for thunderstorms right across eastern Australia, with severe thunderstorms likely through a wide part of inland eastern Australia,' he said. The risk, therefore, stretches across both days of the weekend.

This week, multiple areas in Queensland were hit by more than twice their average October rainfall within a few days. 'It was an incredibly wet week in Queensland. Much more typical of summer or January or February than this time of year,' Crock said.

The Sunshine Coast hinterland and Caboolture were hit by flash flooding and recorded seven-day rainfall totals of 300 to 400 millimetres, with some areas reaching 450 millimetres. Crock said it had been notable how persistent the weather pattern had been and how the rainfall totals had accumulated across seven to ten days through Queensland and northern New South Wales.

On Thursday, torrential rain in south-east Queensland caused flash flooding, water rescues and hundreds of calls for help, while several schools were forced to close on Friday. Thursday's heavy rain stretched from Caboolture down to the Border Ranges, with some places recording well over 200 millimetres.

The Queensland fire department carried out more than 16 swift-water rescues, including using a raft to retrieve an elderly man clinging to the roof of his vehicle at Caboolture. With more rain forecast for the weekend, rescue and emergency services may face another busy period.