'There goes the veggie patch': QLD and NSW thrashed by golf ball-sized hail

Thousands of homes have been left without power across southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales has been thrashed by an unpredictable storm leaving behind a trail of ice.

More than 7000 Sunshine Coast homes are without power as of Sunday morning with more than 450 in the Moreton Bay region, according to Energex.

Lifeguards were forced to close 16 Gold Coast beaches.

The Sunshine Coast region was drenched with Coolum soaked by about 60mm and Maroochydore 67mm, the Courier Mail reported.

An afternoon storm also dumped about 2mm of ice on Movie World at the Gold Coast.

There were also reports of wind gusts of more than 100km/ at Double Island Point near Fraser Island

In Biddadaba, in the Scenic Rim, the green grass was blanketed with white ice following the storm while further south in Grafton, northern New South Wales, residents saw hail the size of golf balls.

“There goes the veggie patch,” one woman posted on Instagram.

Earlier, hail smashed Binna Burra, in the Queensland hinterland.

Some of those parked outside now don't have windows after they were shattered by hail.

The storm hovered over the hinterland, bringing down trees and smashing Springbrook, creating a white Christmas for locals.

It also battered Lower Beachmont before converging on the coast.

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"All this hail in just two minutes," one person said.

At Upper Coomera, people raced to protect cars.

Throughout Saturday afternoon black cells moved across the map from west to the coast.

At Beaudesert locals collected hail by the handfuls.

By late Saturday afternoon lifeguards had no option but to close most coast beaches.

"It was beautiful this morning but now it's become terrible," one person said.

"It's very menacing," another said.