FOLLOW our weather coverage with our LIVE BLOG below and rolling updates.

9.30pm: Three people, including a man, woman and young child had been killed in floodwaters, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed tonight.

The deaths occurred at Dances Rd, Caboolture. Police are investigating reports the vehicle drove around a road closed sign before it was swept away.

“On behalf of all Queensland we express our deepest sympathies. This is a tragedy,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Tonight we are all deeply saddened by this tragic loss of life.”

She said the storm cell had been an extreme weather event, with Caboolture hardest hit.

Ms Palaszczuk said Caboolture had received 333mm of rain since 9am and 277mm fell within a three hour period.

“Having spoken to the Bureau of Meteorology, for them this is off the scale,” she said.

The rainfall is now expected to track down the Gold Coast, particularly impacting the hinterland, before easing around midnight.

“There will still be dangerous surf conditions throughout tomorrow,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The beaches at this stage will be closed and we want people to take extra care.”

SES were called out to 19 swiftwater rescues in Brisbane alone.

9.20pm: Thousands of girls will be left disappointed tomorrow. All netball fixtures at Downey Park at Windsor officially cancelled. All courts have been flooded.

8.45pm: Three people are dead after a car was washed away in today’s wild weather.

The car washed away on Dances Rd, Caboolture about 5.35pm.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was holding a press conference at 9.15pm to confirm the deaths.

BFF - Brisbane Fast and First

8.40pm: There are reports of multiple fatalities in today’s wild weather.

Minister for Police, Fire & Emergency Services Jo-Ann Miller is giving a press conference about grave fears held for occupants of a car seen washed away at Caboolture.

Several cars were seen floating down Brisbane roads but it is believed there are fears for up to three people from the Caboolture incident.

8.20pm: More than 4,500 homes have been left without power after wild weather lashed the southeast. The conditions saw the SES perform 15 swift water rescues, a teenager struck by lightning and a Brisbane rainfall record smashed.

6.04pm: The record for a single day’s rainfall in the month of May has been smashed on the first day of the month.

The 6pm weather bureau update recorded a May day rainfall record for Brisbane CBD, with 156.8mm having fallen since 9am.

It comes as the Bureau of Meteorology cancelled a severe thunderstorm warning for southeast Queensland. Today’s wild weather saw a teenager struck by lightning at Burpengary, roads flooded, cars floating down Brisbane roads and Virgin flights cancelled to and from the Gold Coast.

5pm: RACQ Traffic Response Units reported cars floating down Gympie Road and Gayford Street at Aspley, with residents saying some people were still in their cars as they floated down the streets. People were also reportedly standing on top of their cars on the Bruce Highway at Burpengary, as flood waters begin to rise around them.

It comes after a teenager was struck by lightning, Virgin Australia cancelled all flights to and from the Gold Coast, 10 dams were reported to be spilling, and roads and public transport services were thrown into chaos affected. For full road closures and traffic conditions see our list HERE.

4.05pm: A 16-year-old girl has been struck by lightning at Burpengary, in the Moreton Bay region.

The Queensland Ambulance Service confirmed the incident happened shortly before 4pm.

It comes as roads continue to flood and dams are spilling over. For full road closures and traffic conditions see our list HERE.

3.40pm: Travel plans have been thrown into chaos with the cancellation of all remaining Virgin flights to and from the Gold Coast for the day.

Other airlines are continuing to operate but with weather on the Tourist Strip set to deteriorate over the coming hours, it is possible other carriers will follow Virgin’s lead.

Beaches and some hinterland roads are also closed.

3pm: Experts have issued a severe weather warning for parts of Queensland as residents brace for wild weather tonight.

A statement released shortly before 3pm by the Bureau of Meteorology warned locals of a fierce East Coast low moving south.

The Tweed River and rivers from Maryborough to northern NSW are expected to flood with rainfall expected to reach 300mm in some parts. Queensland Regional Director Rob Webb said the potential for dangerous flooding in creeks and rivers was widespread.

“We are expecting to see significant and widespread rainfall in the range of 50 to 150mm, and localised falls of 200-300mm cannot be ruled out — particularly along the coast,” Mr Webb said.

Residents have been warned to stay off the beaches as damaging winds are expected. The Premier earlier urged southeast residents to stay indoors if possible.

2.30pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Brisbane City and Moreton Bay council areas.

At 2.25pm very dangerous thunderstorms were detected on weather radar near Caboolture and Beachmere. The Bureau says the thunderstorms are slow moving.

12.50pm: The latest Bureau of Meteorology severe weather warning says that a flood watch is current for parts of the Wide Bay and Burnett, Southeast Coast and the Darling Downs and Granite Belt forecast districts.

Locations which may be affected include Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Brisbane, Caboolture, Dalby, Maroochydore, Gympie, Noosa, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Kingaroy and Stanthorpe.

Damaging winds, with peak gusts of around 90km/h are possible near coastal areas as the low moves southwards later today and tonight.

12.10pm: Brisbane has already seen up to 100mm of rain this morning and gale force winds have lashed the Sunshine and Gold coasts.

11.26am: The weather bureau is warning between 200mm to 400mm of rain will be dumped across the southeast, with the system also bringing damaging wind gusts of up to 120km/h.

“Stay out of floodwaters, make sure you are safe, and once again can I stress to families if you do not have to go out this evening, stay indoors, and just enjoy the night at home,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said

10.45am: Swift water rescue crews have been beefed up as emergency services anticipate a busy afternoon with people who insist on crossing flooded roads.

A total of 11 extra swift water crews have been strategically placed across the southeast at known hot spots.

A QFES spokesman said that while they continue to push the message “if it’s flooded, forget it” it is inevitable that people will still attempt to cross flood waters they shouldn’t.

“All the known spots will go up and people will be trying to get home this afternoon,” he said.

Five extra crews have been placed around Brisbane while three each have been positioned on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

RACQ has warned motorists that their insurance may not cover them if they willingly cross flooded roads.

“Insurance is all about putting cover in place for unforeseen circumstances, not foreseen ones,” RACQ executive manager for insurance, Mike Sopinski said.

“We’ve been pushing the message for a long, long time now. If it’s flooded, forget it.”

10.26am: Reports of trees down and power out on the Gold Coast as the bad weather intensifies.

9.54am: Coopers Corner on the Sunshine Coast has recorded 101mm of rain overnight.

9.03am: All Gold Coast beaches have been closed with waves of up to 5.5m recorded on some beaches.

8.35am: Dam operator Seqwater has issued a warning to residents downstream of the Cedar Pocket Dam, east of Gympie, urging caution around floodwaters as the dam spills.

While the rainfall forecast for southeast Queensland is expected to be significant, the average amount likely to fall across catchment zones is only 60mm, a spokeswoman told AAP.

“Given the likely 60mm rainfall scenario occurring within our catchment, we’re not expecting to have to undertake gated dam releases from Wivenhoe, Somerset or North Pine dams at this stage,” she said.

The Wivenhoe Dam is sitting at 98 per cent capacity, while Somerset is at 100.2 per cent and North Pine is at 94.3 per cent.

7.21am: The low is expected to dump between 200 and 400mm of rain across the southeast.

The Sunshine Coast will be first to feel the effects, with wild weather expected there from later on Friday morning.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast will be next as the system tracks south towards the NSW.

“It’ll be mostly in the afternoon and into the evening for the Brisbane area and it will be quite intense for a number of hours, particularly near the coast where the winds will be strong as well,” Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Peter Otto told the ABC.

As well as torrential rain and the risk of flash flooding, residents have been warned to expect winds gusting up to 90km/h.

6.30am: The weather bureau this morning said falls of 150 to 200mm had already been experienced around the Sunshine Coast over the past 30 hours.

“A surface trough will deepen near Fraser Island later today, and then slip southwards along Queensland’s southeast coast during this afternoon and evening.” BOM said.

Heavy rain, which may lead to flash flooding, was expected to develop later today over areas southeast of about Hervey Bay to Taroom to Stanthorpe.

media_camera The lowdown on the weather.

Further falls of 50 to around 150mm are possible over inland parts, and 200 to around 300mm on and east of the Great Dividing Range.

Last night a massive rain system was blanketing southeast Queensland and northern NSW, stretching from Yeppoon as far south as Grafton.

WEATHER EVENT: As it happened yesterday

WEATHER CENTRAL: All the info you need

An intense low was expected to work up off Fraser Island last night as two weather systems — a moisture-laden upper-level low and a surface trough — began to merge.

The low has the potential to create floods, with local councils yesterday warning residents to be prepared.

As forecasters warned of dangerous seas, strong winds and heavy rain, Emergency Services Minister Jo-Ann Miller said police and emergency crews were well prepared.

Forecaster Jess Carey said it was difficult to know how big the event would be.

“We know that, like with cyclones, most of the rain falls on the southern flank, which is why we think areas like Logan and the Gold Coast will see the heaviest rain,” he said.

The system is not expected to be as aggressive as the one that pummelled NSW last week.

The Sunshine Coast has received 100mm in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday along with a further 60mm up to last night, prompting the Ewen Maddock Dam and Lake Macdonald to start spilling.

As deep sea swells off North Stradbroke Island approached 5m, welcome storms delivered rain to the drought-hit southwest sheep country.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the city’s five SES depots had begun preparing sandbags.

“We can gear up very quickly; we have the experience to do that but we don’t want to do it unnecessarily,” Cr Quirk said.

Parking restrictions had been instituted at flood-prone Northey St, Windsor; Butterfield St, Herston; Constance St, Fortitude Valley; Edmondstone St, Bowen Hills; and Sandgate Rd, Albion.

media_camera The east coast low is blanketing southeast Queensland and northern NSW.

Floodwatches have been issued for southeast Queensland river catchments and for NSW coastal rivers from the border to Taree. Falls ranging from 150mm-200mm are expected for the southeast and northern NSW up to ­tomorrow night, with localised falls above 350mm possible.

Gold Coast acting chief ­lifeguard Peter Ball said that beaches were in good condition, so there were no concerns about erosion.

“Seas are 1m to 1.5m at the moment and we’re keeping an eye on it,” he said.

“We’ll see what it dishes up (today) and we’ll close beaches if necessary.”

NSW regional director Barry Hanstrum said places like Tweed Heads, Lismore and the Northern Rivers would face the main impacts.

Ms Miller said drivers should stay out of floodwaters.

media_camera Weather events.

“While Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have swiftwater rescue teams on standby across the southeast, I hope they won’t need to be ­deployed,” she said.

QFES southwestern region assistant commissioner Tom Dawson said it took only 30cm of moving water to sweep a car away and even less to stall an engine.

Ratepayers to count cost of another deluge

BRISBANE is preparing for another budget blow as it ­braces for the east coast low feared to wreak more havoc on the disaster-prone city today.

Ratepayers are already likely to take the brunt of the council’s $150 million clean-up bill after the three biggest storms in recent years. Any damage and recovery costs from the approaching low may inflict more financial pain.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk played down the potential of the weather system, but called on people to use common sense and keep a watch for any updates.

“We have to be careful we don’t get overexcited every time rain is predicted,” he said.

“People are sensitive to it given the history we have had in the past few years. But I don’t want to cry wolf so when the real one comes, people ignore the message.”

The November supercell storm, which pelted some parts of the city with hail the size of cricket balls, cost $24 million to clean up and put pressure on the already tight city budget.

It followed a $106 million bill from the January 2011 floods and a $23 million hit from the January 2013 event, which ate away the city’s disaster funding reserves.

Those costs were partially subsidised by federal and state government funding through National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

Cr Quirk said it would not impact on the council’s ability to respond to disasters.

He said the city had already begun preparing sandbags for residents but were prepared to do more if required.