Deadly storms with more than 170,000 lightning bolts strike Australia

More than 170,000 lightning strikes were recorded during Monday’s storms around south-east Queensland, as the clean-up gets into full swing this morning. After a weekend of record temperatures, the rain set in on Monday afternoon. Temperatures dropped 14 degrees Celsius in two hours at Gatton, west of Brisbane, as the storm rolled in.

Storm chaser Thomas Hinterdorfer was at Toogoolawah, west of Brisbane, when the storm hit. “Complete whiteout, absolute carnage,” he said. The State Emergency Service (SES) was called out to nearly 50 jobs around the south-east. The SES dealt with a number of tree falls and damaged roofs, while 22,000 properties lost power at the height of the storm. READ MORE