Spectacular storms swept across eastern Australia on Wednesday evening, delivering a light show worthy of any New Year's Eve fireworks display.

A combination of fork and sheet lightning lit up the skies for what seemed like hours across the entire Sydney basin and locations much further afield. The view from a distance was almost more spectacular than from up-close.

Lightning storm over the Sydney basin tonight. Seen from Bilpin in the Blue Mountains #SydneyStorm #Sydney #storm #StormHour #bluemountains #Weather #Lightning pic.twitter.com/BitS2bZLHj

— Greg Bourke (@GregBourke3) January 24, 2023

As many as 133,000 lightning strikes or thereabouts were recorded within a 100km radius of Blacktown in Sydney's west.

Image: And to think, they spend millions on New Year's Eve to replicate this free show! Source: Philipps.world.of.photography via Instagram.

Meanwhile rainfall totals were heaviest just inland from the coast, with totals up to 50 mm at numerous locations. Rain tended to be short-lived but heavy. 

For example, Camden Airport in Sydney's far southwest received 20mm in just 10 minutes around 8:30 pm, and 36 mm for the storm.

By contrast, most coastal suburbs in Sydney, Wollongong, and the Central Coast only received 2 or 3 mm of rain as the trough moved across the state after dark, having generated strong storms in parts of Victoria earlier in the day.

But the lightning show, not the rain, was the main story on Tuesday night, and no shortage of people were out there capturing nature's glory.

Image: Lightning never strikes twice in the same place... though those two bolts got pretty close! Source: toffees_blues via Instagram.

Quite the light show tonight #Sydneystorm pic.twitter.com/bufoqXLEnu

— Sarah McPhee (@_SarahMcPhee) January 24, 2023