Widespread thunderstorms affected central and south-east Queensland between 24 and 29 October. Thunderstorms affected Brisbane on 24 and 25 October, and again on 27 and 28 October, bringing heavy rainfall to some sites, flash flooding and strong wind gusts. Thunderstorms produced large hail, with reports of up to 6 cm hail in diameter south of Gayndah, fallen power lines in the Caboolture area, and localised flash flooding on 28 October. Severe thunderstorms impacted much of south-east Queensland on the afternoon of 31 October. The main impacts were giant hail up to 14 cm in diameter along a path from Amberley to the northern suburbs of Logan, giant hail up to 7 cm in the Gympie area, and wind damage from Redcliffe to Kingston with gusts over 100 km/h recorded around Moreton Bay. Giant hail up to 14 cm in diameter was reported at Forestdale, south of Brisbane, and hail up to 13cm in diameter was reported at Hillcrest. Some other reports included giant hail up to 9.5 cm in diameter at Amberley, 8 cm in diameter at Springfield, 7 cm in diameter around Gatton, and 5 cm in diameter at Seventeen Mile Rocks.

As parts of south-east Queensland were being pummelled by a series of very dangerous and life-threatening thunderstorms, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued warnings for people in parts of Queensland’s Wide Bay, Burnett, Darling Downs and Granite Belt regions. BOM also warned the situation was volatile and continuing to change quickly. The path of damage was forecast to hit from the Queensland border to the north of the Sunshine Coast and communities further inland. BOM continued to issue warnings for dangerous thunderstorms throughout Saturday afternoon and into Saturday evening for south-east Queensland. It was also revealed that wind gusts of 115 km/h were recorded at Cape Moreton which is located on Moreton Island 40 kms off Brisbane. There were nine super cell storms in the designated warning area issued by the BOM.

West of the city, the State Disaster Coordination Centre issued an emergency alert for Lockyer Valley, Ipswich, Jimboomba and Amberley residents when the severe thunderstorms were forecasted to bring destructive winds and giant hail. Another emergency alert was issued for parts of the Gold Coast and Logan, namely Woodridge, Beenleigh, Southport and Coomera as the dangerous storms tracked over the city.

Overall, there were 296,000 lightning strikes across south-east Queensland during this event, demonstrating the violent and powerful nature of the storms. Emergency services reported an increase in requests for assistance mainly relating to trees falling down and roofs being damaged. Three people were trapped inside a Springfield Lakes residence after a tree collapsed onto the roof. No injuries were reported. The storms caused the election polling booths to be shut down, with the Electoral Commission of Queensland confirming a polling booth in Ipswich had been shut down after a hailstorm lashed the electorate. Trains were suspended on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines between Helensvale and Kuraby due to the overhead powerlines being down, prompting delays of up to 60 minutes.

Following the aftermath of the storms, there were 95,000 homes without power and the Queensland State Emergency Service (SES) received more than 2,900 requests for assistance in the Ipswich and Logan council areas. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) crews conducted more than 2,000 damage assessments, including more than 500 instances of major damage.

Within 24 hours of 31 October, the Insurance Council of Australia declared the natural disaster a catastrophe with the damage bill currently at $980 million. Insurers have received more than 42,000 claims as at 23 June 2021. Personal hardship financial assistance was activated for some communities including defined localities within the Ipswich City Council area; Greater Springfield (Springfield and Springfield Lakes); Rosewood and Willowbank; suburbs of Logan City Council; Boronia Heights; defined localities within Greenbank.

QFES worked collectively with the Ipswich City Council, Local Disaster Management Group and key stakeholders to assist those community members most severely affected. A multiservice approach to recovery operations was implemented, exemplifying the effectiveness of interoperability. Assistance was also provided by SES personnel from New South Wales and South Australia.