Queenslanders have endured a Christmas Day scorcher as western parts of the state sweated it out at 45 degrees while Brisbane sizzled above 36C.
In one of the hottest Christmas days on record, the recorded temperature hit 44.9 in the outback town of Birdsville at 1.49pm.
The mercury went into the 40s in many other western, central and northern regions with Windorah (44.5), Charleville (43), Winton (42.3), Julia Creek (42.2) and Longreach (42.2) among the hottest.
Even the southern town of St George, near the NSW border, peaked at 43.7C.
Brisbane reached 36.2C by 2pm as families endured the hottest day of the month during their Christmas gatherings in Queensland's capital.
It was also very hot in other southeastern cities with Gold Coast, Ipswich and Logan all reaching 36 and parts of the Sunshine Coast recording 34.
Severe storms forecast
Inland parts of the Sunshine State were patiently waiting for a late afternoon reprieve with thunderstorms forecast to hit.
Severe storms are set to hit the south-east coast with damaging winds and large hail forecast to hit the Toowoomba region.
A storm warning has been issued for parts of the state.
This afternoon, winds of 89km/ph were recorded at Roma, about 500km west of Brisbane.
Locations which may be affected include: Warwick, Toowoomba, Dalby, Roma, Stanthorpe, Boonah, Oakey, Inglewood and Surat.
Damaging winds and heavy rain were scheduled to hit the inland areas from mid-afternoon while a sea breeze was predicted for the southeast.
Severe thunderstorms are also expected on Boxing Day.
