Southeast Queensland will be hit by severe thunderstorms this afternoon, following Brisbane's warmest December night in 15 years.

A mass of warm air passing over southeast Queensland ahead of an approaching low pressure trough caused the temperature to stay five degrees above average in Brisbane last night.

The city's overnight low of 25.8ºC, which occurred at 5:22am local time, was Brisbane's highest December minimum temperature since 2005.

This morning's warm start will lead to a hot day, with the mercury forecast to reach the mid-to-high thirties across southeast Queensland this afternoon.

But sweaty skin won't be the only impact of today's heat. Warm and moisture-laden air near the surface will fuel showers and thunderstorms over a broad area of southeastern and central Queensland.

Storms will develop during the morning, intensify in the afternoon and persist into the evening, generally moving from west to east with the passage of the low pressure trough.

Amid today's widespread storm activity, severe thunderstorms are likely to occur in southeast Queensland and possibly central inland parts of the state as well.

Image: Forecast accumulatd rain today (Monday), according to the ACCESS-C model. This gives an indication of where showers and storms are likely to occur.

Populated areas of southeast Queensland and the far northeast corner of NSW are a good chance of seeing severe storms this afternoon or early evening. These storms may cause heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail.

There's even a chance of supercell thunderstorms, which are highly organised rotating thunderstorms capable of producing destructive winds and giant hail.

Despite the warm and relatively calm start to Monday, it will be a good idea to keep an eye on the sky and check the latest severe thunderstorm warnings during the rest of the day.