Big storms forecast ahead of Qld cold snap

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Kimba Wong said the storms would only dump up to 10mm of rain in some areas as they quickly pass through but they would make their presence felt.

The storms were likely to impact a vast area from the Carnarvon Ranges to the Wide Bay and Burnett region, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast and across the Darling Downs and Granite Belt area.

"There is potential for some severe storms in the southeast of the state this afternoon and evening and, if those storms do pop up, there is the risk for damaging to locally destructive winds and the potential for some large hail," Ms Wong said.

"The storms will be moving quite quickly so the rainfall totals are not expected to be massive."

Following the storms there will be a brutal cold snap over the next few days with fears lambs and sheep could die in southern Queensland as the mercury plunges below zero.

The weather bureau has warned graziers on the Darling Downs and Granite Belt they could lose animals as a huge mass of cold air closes in.

Temperatures are expected to start dropping from Thursday afternoon, when there's also a possibility of a severe thunderstorm in Brisbane.

It's the overnight minimum temperatures that have the bureau worried about stock losses.

At Stanthorpe, on the Southern Downs, the minimum temperature will hit 3C on Friday, before plunging to minus 2C on Sunday and Monday.

It's a similar story in other southern rural communities west of Brisbane.

In a warning to sheep graziers, the bureau said the cold would be accompanied by rain, showers and south westerly winds from Thursday.

"There is a risk of losses of lambs and sheep exposed to these conditions," it said.

But wool traders have told the ABC only newly-shorn sheep will be at risk and those that still have their fleeces should be OK.

Brisbane is also set for chilly conditions, with the minimum on Friday to drop to 14C, and just 9C on Saturday and Sunday.

Australian Associated Press