Man Struck by Lightning While Swimming at Umina Beach in Critical Condition
A man believed to be in his 20s is in critical but stable condition after lightning hit him in the water at Umina Beach on the New South Wales central coast. Witnesses described clear skies overhead, and forecasters warn of bigger storms ahead.
A man believed to be in his 20s is in a critical but stable condition in a Sydney hospital after he was struck by lightning while swimming at Umina Beach on the New South Wales central coast.
Emergency services were called to the beach just after 4pm after reports that a swimmer had been seriously injured. Bystanders pulled the man from the water.
He was taken to Gosford Hospital and then transferred to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he remains in a critical but stable condition.
Strike from a clear sky
Beachgoers said the bolt "came out of nowhere", with blue skies reported at the time. Ed Alvarez, who was at the beach with his daughter, said a storm was brewing in the distance but the sky overhead was sunny and clear.
"My daughter saw it just as she popped her head out of the water," Alvarez said. "You actually see and hear it all in one, in one hit." He said people were "a little shaken up" knowing how close it was.
Sarah Scully, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said such strikes are not unusual. "Lightning strike actually comes from the top layer of the cloud, and shoots out from the side and can sometimes occur 15 to 30 kilometres from where the thunderstorm base is," she said.
That is why a bolt can appear to come from a clear sky.
More storms forecast
The strike came during a weekend of severe storms across parts of Australia. Destructive winds, flash flooding and intense lightning hit the eastern states, and millions of people faced severe weather.
Forecasters expect worse. Scully said an "even bigger storm day" is likely on Sunday, with Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie in the firing line.
"Within this area, you could see giant-sized hail, with a diameter greater than 5cm, as well as destructive wind gusts – in excess of 120 kilometres per hour," she said. Severe thunderstorms are also possible across much of NSW and most of southern and southeastern Queensland.
On Monday, Gympie, Brisbane, South East Queensland and northern NSW face the likelihood of severe thunderstorms. Scully warned of property damage, trees blown across roads and power lines coming down, which could cause outages.
Sydney is forecast to get 1 to 9mm of rain on Sunday and 5 to 30mm on Monday. Brisbane can expect 1 to 15mm on both days.
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