Sydney hit by fierce lightning storm but hot weather forecast to return to the city's west
Updated
Lightning and rain have lashed parts of Sydney early this morning but the cool reprieve is expected to be short-lived, with high temperatures expected to return to the western suburbs.
Loud claps of thunder and lightning strikes woke many Sydneysiders, with some taking to Twitter to post comments about it.
Firefighters rescued an elderly woman from a house fire which may have been caused by lightning at Blacktown.
New South Wales Fire and Rescue Inspector Kernin Lambert said electrical wires sparked on the roof of the property in Frederick Street, causing the small fire.
"There was a 75-year-old lady, an elderly lady, inside the house fast asleep. She had no idea her house was on fire," he said.
"We've had several houses struck by lightening in close proximity. This house is very close to where this lightening storm has gone through. There is a strong possibility at this stage that this fire was cause by lightning."
There were delays for commuters on the T-1 North Shore line in Sydney after services were suspended between Chatswood and Gordon.
Sydney Trains said signalling equipment at Gordon was damaged by lighting strikes but have since been repaired and services have resumed.
The NSW State Emergency Service said it received 150 calls overnight, mainly in the Blacktown area, with callers reporting trees had been uprooted, powerlines were down, and 26 residents at properties had damaged roofs.
Power company Ausgrid said 1,500 homes and businesses on the NSW Central Coast were without power because of the wet weather.
Ausgrid said crews were working to identify the fault and restore power in the Narara, Niagara Park and Ourimbah areas.
Outages have also been reported in Peats Ridge, Central Mangrove, Mangrove and Somersby areas.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has forecast more showers and a likely thunderstorm today with temperatures expected to reach a maximum of 31 degrees Celsius in Sydney and up to 37C in the city's west.
But the BOM has forecast a late southerly change which is expected to result in tomorrow's temperatures being below 30C throughout Sydney.
Topics: weather, rainfall, storm-event, sydney-2000, nsw, blacktown-2148
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