Heavy rain also fell overnight across a wide area on the NSW North-Coast and hinterland.

And in central Queensland, Blackwater, to the west of Rockhampton, was severely hit overnight, with Premier Anna Bligh flying over the disaster area early this morning.

Farther south, a Gippsland flood warning for the weekend was issued last night, with more rain forecast in eastern Victoria, following up Thursday's rain in that state. (See separate story)

In south-east Qld, the third wild storm this week cut power to 45,000 homes and businesses across the region.

While overnight rainfalls were limited to 31mm in Brisbane's inner-city suburbs, wind gusts reached 72kmh, with visibility reduced to 2 metres as the weather blasted the riverside areas of the CBD, including 2-3cm hail stones. One suburb, Mansfield, recorded 97mm overnight.

Flooding at Ipswich, to the west of Brisbane, this week has been the worst seen since 1974, local councillor Paul Tully says.

But nothing will compare to the 1974 storms, during which rain fell for four days straight and Goodna was cut off for a week, with its railway station almost completely submerged, Cr Tully told brisbanetimes.com.au.

"Certainl y it's the worst I've seen since '74 but it can't compare to '74," he said.

However, nearby small country areas such as Rosewood this week are seeing their worst flooding in decades.

"It's the first time in 40 years that the main street of Rosewood has been under water," he said.

In some areas, the water has risen higher than flood warning markers, he said.

Again last night, a large area of the state was battered by a new band of storms that swept in from the west, reaching Brisbane about 6.30pm.

The storm cells "lined up like they were on a score line", forecaster Gordon Banks said.

"The first line of storms hit and then the second line hit within an hour," Mr Banks said.

The strongest winds, reaching 100kmh, were recorded at Toowoomba overnight.