FEBRUARY dawned to heatwave conditions and brought the first of a series of storms through the region.
By late afternoon on February 1, a severe storm warning was issued.
And the storm, when it hit the district, brought with it damaging winds, lightning strikes and window-rattling thunder.
Reports indicate that the mercury hit 38 degrees C that day.
The impact of the storm could be seen in the streets around Rosewood early on Wednesday morning.
Bins placed out on Tuesday evening for the normal Wednesday morning pick up were scattered across the road – as was the rubbish from inside them.
Falling tree branches hit powerlines, blocked the roads and, in the Cobb and Co Park a large gum tree branch damaged the park fence as it fell.
Rain recorded as a result of the storm was highest at Calvert (60mm) then Lower Mt Walker (55mm) and in Rosewood a fall of 40mm was reported.
An Energex spokesman said that Energex field crews responded to more than 500 power outages and emergency repairs during the storms which hit the Ipswich, Lockyer, Scenic Rim, Somerset and Logan City areas.
“Energex’s systems recorded more than 160,000 lightning strikes during the event, which caused extensive damage to electricity poles and wires, transformers and protective equipment,” he said.
“There were about 85 outages in the Ipswich and Lockyer regions, of varying duration.
“These included 18 outages in the Rosewood area plus many other outages in nearby areas such as Ashwell, Tallegalla, The Bluff, Lanefield, Thagoona, Amberley, Calvert, Walloon, Mount Marrow, Minden, Marburg, Mount Walker, Lower Mount Walker and Mount Forbes.
“At the peak of the storms more than 30,000 customers lost power throughout the South East, with more than 100 spans of powerlines brought down across the region. “Energex crews worked throughout the night in many cases to restore power, where it was safe to do so.
“Unfortunately, some customers were not able to be restored to power until the next day, due to the extent of the damage in their area.”
