A severe thunderstorm has caused major damage across Brisbane tonight, with golf-ball-sized hailstones smashing through car windscreens, small planes overturned by damaging winds, and flash flooding bringing central city traffic to a halt.

Weatherwatch.co.nz says reports from the city say 82,000 homes are without power after the fierce storm which snapped trees in half and lifted rooves.

There's been flash flooding in the CBD, causing gridlocked traffic.

A small airport on the southern side of Brisbane has had a number of small planes flipped over on the tarmac by gale-force wind.

Some high-rise buildings with glass walls have smash-holes from ground floor to the top from the big hailstones.