North Queensland's once-in-a-century flooding has caused death, disease and heartbreak, now the vast inland sea has triggered a violent thunderstorm. The unusual storm, which normally only happens over the ocean, was triggered by moist warm air generated by the swollen Flinders River. The river is usually a series of winding channels but has swollen into a vast inland sea more than 60 kilometres wide. The near statewide haze reduced visibility from Brisbane west to Windorah in southern Queensland before pushing north on Thursday. "It's cleared from most places but Townsville appears to be the only place experiencing significant visibility reductions," Mr Clark said.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 14, 2019 06:56 UTC