Australia Weather News

A man in his 70s is being treated in hospital after being struck by lightning while walking his dog in Perth on Thursday morning.

The man was rushed to Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) by paramedics who were called to the north Perth suburb of Hamersley just after 8.30am in response to reports of the lightning strike.

The man remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Paramedics were also called to Eastern Hills Senior High School in Mount Helena in Perth's east around 10.10am to treat two teenage girls after lightning struck near them. 

Both girls are understood to have been treated for non-life-threatening injuries, one of them at FSH and the other at St John of God Midland Public Hospital.

Lightning strikes widespread

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) had forecast a slight chance of a shower and a chance of a thunderstorm in the morning and afternoon.

BOM meteorologist Caroline Crow said about 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded during the thunderstorms, which were widespread across the metropolitan area and the south of WA.

 "The thunderstorms spread from the northern suburbs all the way south to the south of Perth, reaching Mandurah and even a little bit more south that that," Ms Crow said.

"They extended south easterly, moving further inland and reaching the south coast."

Ms Crow said the storms were not unusual for this time of year.

"These thunderstorms were the result of a deep west coast trough, which has been lingering near the west coast during the last week," she said.

"There were multiple thunderstorms across the Perth metro area, there was nothing unusual about this weather event."

Ms Crow said Jarrahdale in Perth's south-east received the highest rainfall with 9.4mm, while other parts of the metro area received between 4 and 6mm.

There are no more thunderstorms forecast for Perth over the next week. 

House fire sparked

It’s estimated about 100 people in Australia are struck by lightning each year, and between five to ten people die from their injuries.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services also confirmed a house fire in Nollamara this morning was caused by a lightning strike.

Nobody was home at the time.

A scrub fire in Emma Treeby Reserve in Banjup was also caused by lightning.

Trains disrupted

The lightning forced the closure of several train lines across Perth, creating havoc for people on their morning commute.

In a statement, the Public Transport Authority said lightning strikes affected network signalling on the Mandurah, Yanchep and Thornlie-Cockburn lines.

"The issue has now been resolved and train services have resumed, although some delays are expected," the statement said.