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7.7 million lightning pulses over Australia in one week

A barrage of thunderstorms battered large areas of eastern and northern Australia over the past week, producing close to 8 million lightning pulses across the country and more than 4 million over Queensland alone.

Weatherzone’s Lightning Detection Network detected around 7.79 million lightning pulses above Australia last week. This lightning was observed over every mainland state and territory and included numerous days of severe thunderstorms.

Image: A thunderstorm causing a cloud-to-ground lightning strike near Greenmount, Qld on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Source: @_benjaminfraser / Instagram.

The 7.79 million lightning pulses that were detected across Australia last week equates to roughly 10% of the country’s average annual lightning activity.

Last week’s thunderstorms were particularly intense over parts of Qld and NSW, where ample instability, moisture and wind shear created an ideal environment for supercells – the most dangerous type of thunderstorm.

Image: Lightning near Allora, Qld on Friday, October 31, 2025. Source: @my_australia_downunder / Instagram.

Hail measuring 5 to 10cm in diameter hit the ground in Qld on multiple days last week, including 9cm hail at Pratten on Saturday and 8cm hail at Googa Creek on Sunday. Wind gusts also reached 104 km/h at Cloncurry and Dalby during the weekend’s severe storms, while a gust of 137 km/h was also reported in a violent storm at Territory Grape Farm in the NT on Sunday. This was the strongest wind gust on record for Territory Grape Farm, with wind observations dating back to 1987.

The map below shows where last week’s lighting occurred over Australia, with the highest lightning densities detected across northern and eastern parts of the country.

Image: Lightning detected over Australia between Monday, October 27 and Sunday, November 2, 2025.

Late October and early November is typically a stormy time of year for eastern and northern Australia as the key ingredients required for thunderstorm formation – heat, instability and moisture – typically occur in abundance.

This week will feature more storms across the country, with severe thunderstorms likely over parts of eastern Australia on Monday, and lightning then becoming prolific across WA by Wednesday.

With thunderstorms a regular feature in Australia at this time of year, it’s important to check the latest forecasts in your area when making plans and always keep an eye on severe thunderstorm warnings in your area.