Millions of Australians across three capital cities and wide areas of Queensland and New South Wales faced a dangerous storm outbreak on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as severe thunderstorms brought destructive winds, flash flooding, and giant hail.
The New Daily reported that hailstones reaching 10 centimetres slammed Maryborough, leaving heavy ice sheets across driveways and roads.
The severe weather system followed an intense night of storms on Monday that left parts of Queensland’s Fraser Coast blanketed in ice.
On Monday night, hailstones measuring between six and 10 centimetres were recorded at Glenwood.
Four to five centimetre hail fell near Yarraman.
Further north on the Sunshine Coast, Cooroy received 54 millimetres of rainfall in just a 30-minute window.
Inland Northern Rivers recorded five-centimetre hail at Fine Flower, while large hail and damaging winds struck the Grafton area.
In north-west Victoria, Quambatook, located south of Swan Hill, reported golf ball-sized hail.
Severe storms also impacted New South Wales on Monday, focusing heavily on the Northern Rivers and nearby areas of the Northern Tablelands, alongside a storm that tracked into the southern Riverina.
Tornado Threats Emerge Across Eastern States
Weather authorities warned that upper-level troughs passing over eastern Australia would create an unstable environment capable of supporting widespread storm activity spanning roughly 2,000 kilometres from central Queensland to eastern Victoria, as detailed by Weatherzone.
Senior meteorologist Harry Clarke stated that the ingredients are in place
for tornadoes.
ABC News reported it marked one of the higher-risk days for such phenomena, noting that an actual touchdown remained unlikely.
Meteorologist Jonathon How added that the atmosphere remained highly unstable.
How warned of potential supercells across northeast New South Wales and southeast and central Queensland with destructive wind gusts exceeding 125 kilometres an hour.
How noted that such wind gusts are capable of felling trees and damaging property, while giant hail poses substantial risks to vehicles.
Power Outages Strike Southeast Queensland
More than 2,700 homes across the region lost power by 7:00 pm, with statewide power outages affecting thousands of properties.
In south-east Queensland, a severe thunderstorm generated wind gusts surpassing 100 kilometres an hour in Toowoomba at approximately 4:00 pm, while lightning flashed over the Brisbane CBD shortly after 4:30 pm, according to The Age.
Meteorologist Christie Johnson noted that the region recorded heavy downpours alongside the wind and hail, stating, We also saw more than 50 millimetres of rainfall recorded at Cooroy on the Sunshine Coast in just 30 minutes.
Addressing the threat of tornadoes, Johnson explained: Any supercell thunderstorm does, by definition … have the risk that it could produce tornadoes,
adding, [But they are] quite rare. It’s much more likely that we’ll just get damage from the destructive winds out of the supercell itself.
During the afternoon, warnings extended across the Illawarra, Northern Tablelands, Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, Hunter, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, North West Slopes and Plains, Central Highlands and Coalfields, Maranoa and Warrego, and Darling Downs and Granite Belt forecast districts.
By evening, the Bureau of Meteorology updated its warnings.
The Bureau cancelled alerts for the Sydney Metropolitan and ACT districts at 7:24 pm.
The Bureau maintained severe alerts for Singleton, Putty, and parts of the Hunter, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, and Central West Slopes and Plains.
Sydney Airport Faces Ground Stop
Nine reported that heavy rain and lightning struck Sydney Airport, forcing a tarmac ground stop and delaying an incoming Qantas flight from Albury that circled for 90 minutes as the severe band swept toward the coast.
Commuter routes experienced delays as severe weather and storms brought heavy rain and hazardous conditions to the region.
Severe Weather Update: Severe storms for Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland this week. Video current: 11:00am AEDT 2 November 2026. Latest forecasts and warnings: https://t.co/sHAeAP9nja or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/h9fayRPjpe
Across western Sydney, skies turned pitch-black before a sudden burst of hail and heavy rain sent water pouring down suburban driveways.
Thunder rattled windows and visibility dropped in minutes.
The storm system delivered five-centimetre hail to Blaxlands Creek, two-centimetre hail at Aberdeen, and wind gusts peaking at 90 km/h in Glen Innes.
By Tuesday evening, the Bureau of Meteorology reported that storms were generally easing across New South Wales.
Isolated severe cells continued to drop heavy rainfall capable of triggering flash floods.