So, what did they do when greeted by this strange sight? They grabbed drinks, created a pile of hail and used it as an esky while the dark clouds moved on and the full extent of the damage came into view.

The Hibbert family's property at Clagiraba in the Gold Coast hinterland was covered in hail during 30 minutes when "the heavens opened" just after 4pm, according to Melissa Hibbert.

"We were out the back of the property and almost couldn't see because the rain and hail were hitting the back glass doors," she said.

"So we moved to the front of the property, it was quite phenomenal.

"When it had cleared and we went outside there were big mounds of ice out the back, honestly it looked like it had been snowing."

Mrs Hibbert said there were still mounds of ice in her garden on Sunday afternoon, despite the sun shining down on it.

Meanwhile, in nearby Mount Tamborine Daniel Huskins received a similar blanket of hail just about 4pm, with ice collecting on top of his roof and piling up in front of his garage door.

Just like the Hibberts, Mr Huskins decided to take advantage of the situation.

"I grabbed a Bundy Rum and Cola, put it in there (mound of hail), ordered a pizza and when I pulled it out about 45 minutes later it was ice cold," Mr Huskins said.

"It was cooled the environmentally friendly way and was definitely better than one from the fridge."

Mr Huskins said the hail at his home had melted away by Sunday morning, but described it as "an unbelievable sight which looked like a blanket of snow".

Australia Zoo was forced to close on Sunday and Sunshine Coast trains were suspended after several severe storm cells rolled through the south-east on Saturday.

The wild weather saw more than 100 millimetres of rain fall in one hour, destructive wind gusts lash the coast and large hailstones blanket the region, with thousands still without power long after the storms had passed.

An estimated 18,000 Energex customers were without power after the storms hit south-east Queensland, but this was down to less than 3000 by mid-afternoon on Sunday.

The State Emergency Service was kept busy overnight having received 156 calls for help. The majority of those were on the Sunshine Coast and mostly for minor damage.

However, the most serious callout was to Landsborough Pines Caravan Park where trees came crashing down on top of a caravan and two cars, displacing about a dozen people, according to the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Andrew Bufalino said storms were expected to return to the state on Sunday, but would mainly affect the Central Highlands and Coalfields, Capricornia as well as the Wide Bay and Burnett regions.

However, the storms were not forecast to be as severe as those seen in the south-east on Saturday.

Looking ahead, conditions were expected to stabilise, with the odd chance of showers throughout next week, according to Mr Bufalino.

With AAP