Severe thunderstorms are expected to spark up over Southeastern Queensland and Northeastern New South Wales this weekend, just in time for schoolies.

A trough over the east is currently building in both heat and moisture, the core ingredients to thunderstorm development.

On both Thursday and Friday afternoons, storms flared over the Northern Rivers of NSW as the trough slowly marched north. These storms produced heavy heavy rainfall, 2-5 cm hail and damaging wind gusts.

The thunderstorms developing both on Saturday and on Sunday are expected to produce these dangerous conditions again. Some local areas could also experience giant hail (>5cm in diameter or golf ball sized) with these storms.

The most likely locations to see storms this weekend are Grafton, Lismore, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Roma and St George.

With the increased potential for severe storms, stay up to date with the latest warnings at http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp