Several large fires continue to burn across southern Qld today, creating smoke plumes so large that they can be seen by satellites sitting more than 35,000 km above Earth’s surface.

A wet spring followed by an unusually dry start to summer has caused a build-up of dry vegetation over the southeast inland of Qld in recent weeks.

This increased bush and grass fire fuel is now combining with a spell of hot, dry and windy weather, producing High Fire Danger Ratings in some central and southern parts of the state during the first half of this week.

The smoke plumes of several large fires could be clearly seen spreading across southern Qld on Monday and Tuesday. Some of these fires are threatening properties and lives, prompting Watch and Act and Emergency Warning alerts from the Qld Fire and Emergency Services.

In addition to the fires, parts of southeast Qld are likely to see severe thunderstorms on Tuesday. There have already been a few intense storms on Tuesday morning, and more are expected in the afternoon and evening.

Capping off Qld’s mix of dangerous weather this week is a threat of heavy rain, flooding and severe thunderstorms in the far north and northwest, thanks to an active monsoon trough and tropical low. The map below shows how much rain one computer model is predicting over the next three days.

Image: Forecast accumulated rain between Tuesday and Thursday this week, according to the ECMWF-HRES model.

You can find the latest Qld fire warnings here and weather and thunderstorm warnings here.