A ferocious storm has lashed the South East

A severe storm front has caused major damage across the South East, after it brought golf ball-sized hail stones and strong winds and caused flash flooding.

7News Meteorologist Tony Auden says, "It's the most intense storm to hit since the ferocious cell that lashed The Gap in 2008."

He said, "It's an early contender for 'storm of the decade'. The system peaked in intensity as it struck Brisbane's southern suburbs and packed a punch as it rolled through the CBD."

Emergency Services Minister Jack Dempsey tweeted at about 6.30pm(AEST) that there had been almost 700 calls for SES assistance.

It's been reported that some inner-city schools will be closed tomorrow as they're too unsafe for students.

Wind gusts of 141km/h were recorded at Archerfield.

The airport there has been closed with water across the runway.

Some light planes were flipped upside down.

At 5.10pm(AEST) almost 70,000 customers in the Brisbane area were affected by emergency outages, that number is now close to 75,000.

The entire city rail network was suspended until the storm passed because of the danger from the hail.

There is traffic chaos this evening as inner-city workers tried to make their way home.

Police are now appealing to drivers in and around Brisbane to delay all non-essential travel, and allow emergency services to attend to the widespread damage.

They say traffic congestion is hampering the ability for emergency services to get to locations impacted by the storms.