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Queensland supercells in photos

Ben Domensino

A pair of supercell thunderstorms tore through the southern Wide Bay and Burnett District in southeast Queensland on Thursday afternoon.

One of the intense and severe thunderstorms prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to issue a rare tornado warning.

The intense winds produced by this storm and its tornado caused a trail of damage to properties and vegetation across the region.

Along with destructive winds, Thursday afternoon's supercell thunderstorms also cause heavy rain and large hail.

While rain was welcomed by some farmers in southeast Queensland on Thursday, those in the path of these two supercells experienced significant crop damage.

Thursday's severe thundertorms developed as warm and moisture-laden air from the Coral Sea interacted with a low pressure trough. What made these particular storms so intense was the combinatoun of a very unstable atmosphere and an abrutp change in wind speed and direction with height, which is called wind shear.

Severe thunderstorms are common in southeast Queensland during October. However, supercells that produce tornadoes certaintly aren't seen every year.

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