Australia Weather News

A regional photographer says weekend storms brought "awe inspiring" images, but his thoughts were with the farmers who experienced massive damage.

When Bobby Skidmore was driving towards Warwick to capture images of the weekend thunderstorms, he reflected on both the excitement and dread storms bring at this time of year.

"It's a double-edged sword," he said.

"The storms are great to look at, but by the time the storm is over and I am sitting at home, the farmers are left counting their losses and cleaning up big messes."

Wild storms struck melon crops on the Western Downs, severely damaging crops about to be harvested.

"I see all the fields and the livestock and the large farm sheds filled with hay and feed, and I really feel for the farmers."

Mr Skidmore said he believed the storms this season had been more intense than this time last year.

"And it's not even summer yet," he said.

"We've still got a long way to go this season."


Images of the storm that hit Warwick show the telltale green tinged-clouds of hail.

"The clouds started to look really intimidating," Mr Skidmore said.

"It was the most intense green, and you just knew that stacked inside that storm was a big hail system."

In Warwick, fellow storm chaser Terry West was kilometres away, but could hear the same noise.

"It roared like a freight train," he said.

"These storms bring a lot of rain and we need it, but it is a catch 22.

"The high winds and the hail cost the farmers a lot of money."

Mr West said the weekend storms were a reminder of the power of nature.

"I take photos of nature, and I look at these storms in awe," he said.

"And these ones were pretty awesome.

"I love my hobby, but at the same time it really is awful to see the damage the storms cause."

ABC