Weather Australia: Huge thunderstorms hit east coast: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth

A massive cleanup is underway after massive thunderstorms hit the east coast of Australia overnight causing flash floods, huge hailstones and power outages.

Large parts of New South Wales on Tuesday night were struck with an estimated 30,000 lightning strikes that struck areas from the Hunter Valley to Sydney, the south coast and Illawarra.

Spectacular dash cam video shows the moment massive lightning struck near cars on a busy street near Narellan in western Sydney.

Hundreds more photos and clips also flooded social media as the night wore on.

But forecasts suggest Australia Day will remain warm and sunny through the public holiday.

Wild weather also hit Victoria with state emergency services responding to hundreds of outstanding calls for help, with 116 requests in Geelong alone.

Melbourne was also severely affected, with more than 6,000 Victorians without power.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said “moist and unsettled air” triggered the thunderstorms in the coastal area.

With the storm front came strong winds at Shellharbour Airport, 115 km south of Sydney, which registered a gust of 93 km/h at 21:30.

Elsewhere NSW, Kempsey, Gosford, Cessnock, Penrith, Parramatta and Kulnura all faced very heavy downpours.

Western Sydney and the Southern Highlands were also among the hardest-hit regions, as strong winds, rain and hail ripped through suburbs and cities.

The Camden area of ​​south-west Sydney was swept by a storm shortly after 8pm, with heavy rain turning streets into rivers and blanketing green areas with hail.

Some suburbs reportedly received hail the size of golf balls.

NSW SES had around 50 calls, mainly due to roof leaks due to rain.

An SES unit was called to Cox Avenue in Kingswood after receiving reports that a car was trapped in floodwaters.

“By the time the unit got there, there were a couple of other cars that had gotten into the same floodwaters,” an SES spokesperson said.

Everyone who was in the floods came out and is safe.

Earlier in the day, Sydney and the surrounding areas had been mild and sunny and were predicted to return to those conditions by Australia Day.

In Victoria, storms hit the Bellarine Peninsula around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, bringing strong winds and heavy downpours that had already drenched the west of the state.

Mount Glibrant, some 67 kilometers west of Geelong, received 29mm of rain in 30 minutes.

As the thunderstorms passed to the east, Melbourne was hit by the deluge around 5pm

Parts of the city were affected by heavy rain and damaging winds, while locals reported strong lightning throughout the afternoon.

Montrose, in the east of the city, had 23mm of rain in 30 minutes.

The BoM said a depression and a “warm, humid and unstable atmosphere” were behind the thunderstorms raging in the region.

State emergency services advised people in storm-affected areas to stay indoors and away from windows, avoid travel if possible and avoid dangerous hazards like flooding, downed trees and power lines.

BoM said Wednesday is expected to be partly cloudy with a high of 28 degrees for both Melbourne and Geelong.

The weather will improve in most places in time for Australia Day, with Perth peaking at 31, Adelaide hitting 29, Sydney, Canberra and Darwin hitting 32 and Brisbane seeing 33.

However, on Thursday it will be colder in Melbourne and Hobart, with temperatures peaking at 22 and 21 respectively.