A sweltering hot day followed by rolling clouds over Sydney set the perfect conditions for a lighting storm.
And Mother Nature delivered with a spectacular heatwave-busting lightning strike that illuminated the Opera House on Wednesday afternoon.
These stunning pictures show lighting striking near the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Sydney Tower and Anzac Bridge.
The powerful thunderstorm which hit Sydney on Wednesday afternoon was captured as it sent a bolt of lightning to earth right next to the Sydney Opera House (pictured)
Parts of the city reached into the 40s, but there was a rapid cool change when a number of fierce thunderstorms (pictured) hit the region
One photo shows an electric purple bolt of lightning light up the grey sky right next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge (pictured)
While parts of the city reached into the 40s on Wednesday, there was a rapid cool change when a number of fierce thunderstorms hit the region.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse told Daily Mail Australia the high temperatures dropped ‘pretty quickly’ on the coast.
‘Near the airport it dropped about 10 degrees in a few minutes,’ Ms Woodhouse said.
‘Further west it took maybe one to two hours [to drop].’
As many Sydneysiders would have left the house yesterday morning dressed in skirts and shorts, they would have needed a brolly at hand later in the afternoon to cater for the wild storms.
The intense flashes of lightning were captured by keen onlookers, with some impressive photos showing bright bolts lighting up the harbour city.
A sweltering hot day followed by rolling clouds over Sydney set the perfect conditions for a lighting storm
Mother Nature delivered with a series of spectacular heatwave heatwave-busting lightning strikes illuminating the city on Wednesday afternoon
One photo shows an electric purple bolt of lightning light up the grey sky right next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Another photo captures the moment a powerful purple bolt pierces down from the dull sky very close to the Sydney Opera House, resembling a scene from a Hollywood movie.
Ms Woodhouse said the thunderstorms began to come through the city just after lunch, forcing temperatures to drop to low to mid 20s.
The forecaster told Daily Mail Australia the thunderstorms lasted about four hours, bringing with them winds of up to 40km/h in some parts of the region and 19mm of rain.
While today offers some cool respite for many exhausted by the summer heat, the cooler conditions won’t hang around for long
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse told Daily Mail Australia the rife temperatures dropped ‘pretty quickly’ on the coast
‘Near the airport it dropped about 10 degrees in a few minutes,’ Ms Woodhouse said
‘The last few nights have been fairly humid nights, minimum temperatures remained quite warm and extremely sticky and the humidity combined with the system generated a fair amount of thunderstorms across the state,’ Ms Woodhouse said.
While tomorrow will offer some cool respite for many exhausted by the summer heat, it won’t hang around for long.
There is a ‘slight risk’ of thunderstorms Thursday morning in the Hunter Region before the hot weather comes back in time for Christmas.
‘Over the coming days the heat will start to creep in again, it’s the story of summer,’ Ms Woodhouse said.
‘We have a heatwave, then a few days break then start to see temperatures climb again.’