Drenching relief was delivered to the north coast last night when a spectacular lightshow accompanied some of the largest falls of rain for many months.
And while most areas received at least 20mm, some including Cape Byron (40.9) and Brays Creek (52mm) had more than double that.
Some 45mm of welcome rain fell in the Echonetdaily gauge at Binna Burra.
Evans Head, where the bombing range caught fire yesterday, fared less well, with a fall of just 12.4mm.
The windiest spot was Ballina, with gusts up to 50km, but overall lower wind-speeds saw power outages minimised.
Essential Energy reports that at the peak of the storm 2,500 customers were without power, most in the Byron Bay area. That number has reduced to about 1,600 as customers are progressively reconnected.
And more could be on the way, according to the BoM, with a 60 per cent chance of showers today and an 80 per cent chance tomorrow.
But temperatures are not forecast to cool dramatically, with 29 for Byron Bay, 36 for Lismore, 32 for Ballina and 25 for Tweed Heads.
“The windiest spot was Ballina, with gusts up to 50mm… ”
50mm gusts must be ones that only impact feet and ankles. The climate is certainly changing.
Indeed Harry, I experienced those 50mm gusts myself last night, I’m glad I had my thongs on!
A very viscious storm with driving rain, lightning and thunder directly overhead for at least 4 hours and 78mm of rain in the gauge. A quick quad bike ride around the paddocks this morning and horses and cattle grazing as if there hadn’t been a storm at all! All the drains full of water whereas for months they have been empty.