[4][5] November is traditionally the start of the thunderstorm season along the eastern seaboard of Australia, with a rise in average humidity and warmer ground temperatures combining with more frequent occurrences of cool air in the upper atmosphere.
The Bureau of Meteorology radar picked up a series of cells to the north-west of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, and the data suggested that there was a possibility of large hail.
The Bureau immediately issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the coastal region between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, 100 km to the north.
The storm caused a lengthy delay during the First Test of the series between Australia and the West Indies, when hail forced play to be stopped at the Brisbane Cricket Ground around 1:15pm.
The hail also damaged aircraft at a local airport and dented cars, as well as inflicting injuries to a handful of swimmers at beaches near Maroochydore.
[1] However, due to the low population density in the area the reported damage was sparse, with one house destroyed, several others unroofed and hundreds of trees were snapped.
It strengthened and moved in a north-east direction, causing severe damage to Bullyard and Bucca areas with giant hailstones, described as the size of a "cricket ball".
According to reports by meteorologists, the tornado was so strong and the effects caused on the area it hit were so extreme that household appliances were displaced, small objects were embedded in trees and house walls, and "a 3-tonne truck body was carried 300 metres across the ground".