Western Power has restored power to thousands of home after Perth's Thursday morning storms - but efforts are being hampered by lightning strikes hanging around the city.
About 30,000 customers lost power at different stages during morning and 13,000 customers were still without electricity at 1pm.
Western Power spokesperson Simon Bailey said further lighting strikes on Thursday morning had caused the blackouts.
"The lightning has been bouncing around, so our guys are busy," he said.
A number of planes were grounded at Perth Airport because of the electrical storm and two Perth beaches were closed.
St John also reported over the course of the day four people being taken to hospital as a result of lightning strikes.
Two men were transported to SCGH just before midday after lightning struck in Challenger Parade, City Beach, while another man in his 30s was taken to Rockingham hospital just after 1pm.
Paramedics also rushed to an address in Collie just after 4pm to treat a woman in her 40s.
Gosnells resident Rob Nixon told Radio 6PR and WAtoday.com.au lightning had struck his flag pole just after 7am.
"There has been lightning going on all night, so I went into my daughter's room to grab her because her room is near the flag pole," he said.
"When I got into her door way, I heard a loud bang and saw what looked like a fireball.
"I could smell smoke and I don't know if the was a ricochet onto the roof, because the SES said 'don't go outside'.
"The lightning knocked the cap off [the top of the pole] and brought the flag down.
"Now it's just lying in a muddy mess."
Mr Nixon, who runs a YouTube cooking show called Nicko's Kitchen, said the lightning left his home without power.
"It has short-circuited the home and some of the appliances were coming on and off for a while," he said.
"And the whole street is flooded."
NEXT with
@tmcmillan9 we speak to the owner of this Aussie flag - struck by lightning this morning.
#UnAustralian
pic.twitter.com/GLzyWBcV97 — Nine News Perth (@9NewsPerth)
January 29, 2015
The storm also meant Perth broke one of its longest driest spells in a decade with 1.6 millimetres of rain in the metropolitan gauge.
It had been 61 days since Perth last saw rain.
Jandakot had the highest amount of rain in the metropolitan area at 7am with 6.5 millimetres.
The State Emergency Service said it had received a number of calls but no major damage had been reported.
Air passengers endured lengthy delays and several aircraft were grounded at Perth Airport amid the electrical storm. There were also reports of at least one Qantas flight from Melbourne being stranded on the tarmac.
Perth Airport spokeswoman Angela Manevski said flight delays were expected for the most of the day and urged passengers to contact airlines directly for the latest information.
A Qantas spokesman said flights were grounded for 45 minutes between 12.15pm and 1pm because of concerns about the electrical storm and safety of staff working on the tarmac.
The delay had affected five flights out of Perth, he said.
The airline had also experienced sporadic delays of between 30 minutes and an hour during the morning.
Police are warning motorist to take care on the roads on Thursday as there is likely to be a build-up of oils and grease on the roads after the long dry spell.
The Perth Bureau of Meteorology said Perth could expect another thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon.
The next week is looking sticky and muggy, with storms predicted most days and temperatures soaring in the mid to high 30s.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said the weather pattern was very static, with a trough lingering of the WA coast.
Meanwhile, the Department of Fire and Emergency has warned people living in an area bounded by Lancelin to York to Narrogin to Dwellingup to take action and stay safe with the storm heading their way.
- With Aleisha Orr
