Severe weather is expected to impact southeast Queensland and the Darling Downs today as stormy conditions return to the region. The Bureau of Meteorology has identified several areas at risk for storms, including inland, central, and Far North Queensland, as well as southern parts of the state and the southeast.

Miriam Bradbury from the Bureau stated, "The only areas which are not really too likely to see storms are the North Tropical Coast and pushing down through the Central Coast." She noted that while most storms may not bring significant rainfall, gusty winds are anticipated.

The Darling Downs, southeast, and parts of Maranoa and Warrego are particularly at risk for severe storms. This region was previously affected by two supercell storms on November 1 and 3. Bradbury commented, "At this stage, it's not looking as bad as those other events. They are expected to potentially become severe thunderstorms, but, at this stage, we're not necessarily expecting the increased risk of supercells or high-end hazards like destructive wind gusts or giant-sized hail."

However, she cautioned, "Any severe storm is called severe for a reason. It does still have potential to cause some damage to cars and property, and potentially, transport disruptions with the risk of large hail and damaging wind gusts."

This warning comes after storms and heavy rain affected parts of central Queensland last night. Lochington, located southwest of Emerald, recorded 22 millimeters of rain since 9 a.m. yesterday, while Rolleston further south received 40.8 millimeters.

Despite the storms, temperatures across Queensland are expected to remain mild to warm. Bradbury indicated that inland areas could see temperatures in the mid-to-high 30s, while coastal regions are likely to experience highs in the high 20s to low 30s.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Bradbury mentioned that the southeast coast and the Darling Downs are likely to see severe storms on Saturday. She added, "From Sunday, we're likely to see a cloud band really thickening up across the state, extending from north-western parts of the state all the way through to the south-east. That's likely to bring us widespread showers, possibly some rain areas, and the risk of storms."

In the Gulf of Carpentaria, property owners are hoping for rain over the weekend to help combat ongoing blazes that have been burning in the region for about a month. These fires were ignited by lightning strikes from electrical storms and span 150 kilometers between Normanton and Croydon.

Shane Hopton, the Queensland Fire Department North West-Gulf area manager, reported that approximately 72,000 hectares have already burned on a single cattle station at Broadwater Creek. He stated, "If we do receive the rain, it definitely will have an impact on the amount of fire or the fire behavior. It's all depending on the amount of rain we actually see over the incident."

Ashley Gallagher, a grazier at Sawtell Station in Normanton, expressed concern as the fires approached his homestead. "It had jumped the backburn and it was moving towards the house at a rate of knots," Gallagher said. "It's burnt out hundreds and hundreds of square-mile country… an awful lot of country that's burnt out and needs rain in the next couple of weeks."