DESTRUCTION: Damage after a storm described by residents as a 'mini tornado' swept through the Western Downs. Source: Supplied
THAR' SHE BLOWS: Damage after what residents describe as a 'mini tornado' hit the Western Downs. Source: Supplied
FRIGHTENED residents have dubbed a wild thunderstorm that tore through the Western Downs overnight, downing trees and damaging homes, as a "mini tornado??.
John Merrill, who lives on a rural property off Daybreak Rd, roughly 35km north of Tara, said the storms had wrought a trail of destruction through a strip of farmland roughly 10km long and just 2km wide.
"Everywhere you look you can see broken trees and the tops of the trees are all snapped off, like twigs,?? he said.
"One big one came down and totally destroyed my shade house.??
Tara SES controller Rodney Parker said crews had been assessing the worst of the damage on Daybreak Rd and Blackburns Rd.
"It?s mostly lots of trees down and blocking roads, although one house lost its verandah and had some tin loose on the roof,?? he said.
"We?ve been helping people by removing trees from driveways and things like that.??
Mr Merrill said the storm clouds started to gather about 5.30pm Thursday.
"The temperature started to drop and then we saw the dark clouds build up,?? he said.
"At first we thought 'it?s just another summer storm? but after another 15 minutes we noticed the clouds were really swirling up high, and, although it was more spread out, looked a bit like a tornado.
"My friend was up visiting from Brisbane at the time and he said 'good God, I?m going inside the house?.
"Within five minutes it hit. The wind must have been in excess of 100km/h and the rain was coming in sideways.??
Mr Merrill said his neighbour, who lived down the road from him, phoned for help around 7pm because her roof and verandah had blown off.
He said it was the worse storm he?d ever seen.
"About halfway through the storm it just went really calm for about five minutes and then all of a sudden the wind started again and it was back,?? Mr Merrill said.
Mr Parker said he?d watched the storm on the Bureau of Meteorology radar as it rolled in.
"It developed to the south west of us and we got a bit of rain and thunder here in Tara town but it seemed to go through somewhere out towards Millers Rd, which is about 10kms from Blackburns Rd,?? he said.
"We?ve had a few storms go through like this in other years and the only lucky thing is that it?s mostly farming properties and not houses out there.??
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Michael Knepp said thunderstorms swept through from Goondiwindi in the south to Taroom overnight on Thursday.
He said it was difficult to get a reading on rainfall or wind because there wasn?t an official weather station in the area.
"There have definitely been reports of some wind damage but until we see any evidence of it I wouldn?t say it was a tornado,?? he said.
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