National

'Tennis ball-sized' hail battering cars in major storms

Nov 1, 2025

Hail stones in Pratten, Queensland — Hazardous conditions including giant hail have battered Queensland's south and northern NSW. -PR HANDOUT

Hail stones as big as tennis balls have punched through windscreens and skylights as destructive wind and rain engulf parts of eastern Australia.

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A major band of high-end hazardous conditions pushed towards southern Queensland and northern NSW on Saturday, wreaking havoc on homes and local businesses.

About 20 to 40 locals hoping to celebrate the re-opening of MJ's Cafe and Bar were forced to take shelter as hail pelted the venue in Pratten, about 200km southwest of Brisbane.

"It basically started the size of a pea, maybe up to marble size, and then it really started to ramp up, getting to golf ball and nearly tennis-ball," owner Richard Manley told AAP.

"We're in the bush, so we know about rifles and it sounded louder than a .223 going off."

By the time the storm began to die down, almost every car in the parking lot had suffered windscreen damage, the outdoor furniture was destroyed and hail had smashed through the venue's skylights, Mr Manley said.

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded hail stones as large as 9cm in Pratten, with 5cm and 2cm stones recorded elsewhere in the state.

Mr Manley said he did not receive a phone alert about the severe weather, but Pratten locals have since flocked to MJ's Cafe and Bar to help with repairs.

During a midday weather update, the Bureau of Meteorology's forecaster Angus Hines said the strong winds could bring down branches and possibly entire trees, while roads were expected to flood.

Outages have also blighted some storm-affected regions in Queensland.

The storms are expected to continue throughout Saturday evening and into Sunday in some areas.

"There's lots of places, and more importantly, lots of people, that could be impacted by severe thunderstorms later on today, and if that happens, some of the impacts could get pretty serious," Mr Hines said.

The Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Noosa Heads and inland up through the Burnett region were in the firing line, Mr Hines said.

Kingaroy, Gympie and as far north as Biloela and as far west as Roma - including the Darling Downs centres of Toowoomba, Dalby and Warwick Â - were all likely in for a rough time.

In NSW, the impact zone included Tamworth, Glen Innes and across to Moree, while there was a chance some storm activity would reach major coastal communities including Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Ballina, Lismore and Byron Bay.