More wild weather on its way as Sydney battered by lightning, hail

More wild weather on its way as Sydney battered by lightning, hail

The storm came after an unseasonably warm August day for Sydney’s penultimate day of winter with the city’s Observatory Hill recording a maximum 27.5 degrees just after 1.30pm on Wednesday.

Just before 2.30pm, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Sydney radar crashed as storms began to brew across the city. The radar went back online about 4.30pm after bureau technicians rushed to fix the issue.

A beachgoer runs from the hail at Bondi Beach.

A beachgoer runs from the hail at Bondi Beach. Credit: Brook Mitchell

The bureau’s community information leader Angus Hines said more thunderstorms were expected to develop on Thursday for areas along the eastern seaboard.

The bureau is currently forecasting a chance of thunderstorms on Thursday morning and showers for the rest of the day.

A moderate fire danger is also in place for Thursday as winds continue to get stronger.

“When thunderstorms are involved, things do move very, very quickly,” he said.

“Chances are this afternoon we could well add further warning areas and modify existing warning areas as we track the movement and intensity of these developing storms.”

An electrical storm heads towards Maroubra in Sydney’s east.

An electrical storm heads towards Maroubra in Sydney’s east.Credit: Janie Barrett

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