Schoolies celebrations are expected to start off with a bang, with potential wild weather forcing police and emergency services to consider their options ahead of a stormy night.
The traditional schoolies holiday officially begins on Saturday, with the first influx of school leavers already trickling into the Gold Coast.
But storm warnings for much of south-east Queensland, including forecasts of heavy rain, hail and strong winds, have the potential to get the annual party festival off to a rocky start.
Gold Coast District Superintendent Jim Keogh said police and the SES were meeting on Friday afternoon to formulate a potential response.
"We're having a meeting to consider issues that may emanate from that weather," he told reporters on the Gold Coast.
Emergency Management Queensland deputy executive director Bruce Grady said there were concerns about so many young people being outdoors in what could be two severe storms on Friday and Saturday.
"Having that many young people concentrating on things other than storms is a concern," he said.
"As storms approach we would encourage people to stay indoors - that's the safest place.
"It's a small price to pay to lose one or two days out of your schoolies week."
Additional closed circuit television cameras have been installed around Surfers Paradise and an increased police presence will be felt in suburban areas to account for potential street parties, Supt Keogh said.
Plans for schoolies were otherwise unchanged from previous years, involving uniformed and plain clothes officers working alongside volunteers.
Schoolies will be issued with luminescent wristbands to allow access to exclusive areas, barring the way for non-school leavers, or "toolies" as they have become known.
Supt Keogh admitted "toolies" were historically more badly behaved than their younger counterparts, but he expected another overall improvement in behaviour this year.
"Last year we had very few serious assaults and that's what we strive for," he said.
"(But) you're going to have 30,000 schoolies here and you're still maintaining an entertainment precinct for adults ... it has the potential there to have problems."
He reminded parents not to buy alcohol for minors, saying new legislation allowed police to enter private homes under certain circumstances if the practice was suspected.
