Tornado hits Brisbane Airport, exposing the interior to extreme rainfall, Australia

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) confirmed a tornado touched down near Brisbane Airport, Queensland just after 10:00 LT on Friday morning, October 22, 2021, causing damage across the airport precinct. The event halted some flights but both runways are operational.

The tornado touched down near the tarmac, and was on the ground for several minutes, blowing sheets of metal across runways, upturning trailers, and uprooting trees in the process.¹

Panels flew off roofs, exposing the airport's interior to a rare downpour of 101 mm (3.97 inches) in an hour — described as a one-in-50-year rain event for the area.

The Brisbane Airport Corporation said flight delays were expected and they were assessing damage, but there have been no reports of injuries.²

The airport remained open throughout the tornado, but operations were momentarily suspended and flights grounded.

This is the fourth tornado to hit Queensland this week.

References:

¹ Tornado damages Brisbane Airport as severe weather events continue across state – 9News

² Tornado impacts Brisbane Airport in supercell storm event, more wild weather predicted for weekend from inland low pressure system – ABC

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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