State in the dark: South Australia's major power outage
The entire state of South Australia was without power for several hours on Wednesday afternoon, with the region gripped by what could be one of the most extreme weather systems to hit in 50 years.
A mass blackout began about 3.30pm Wednesday afternoon, plunging the city into darkness, grounding flights and causing havoc on the state's roads.
Traffic lights were rendered inoperational, choking roads in the CBD. Building fire alarms blared across the city, according to local media reports, and residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on candles and matches.
By 7.30pm local time, power had been restored to some Adelaide suburbs including Gilberton, Hallett Cove and Kensington. It had been reported earlier that much of the state could be without power until 4.15am on Thursday.
Two severe storm fronts swept across SA on Wednesday, the first hitting Adelaide around lunchtime and the second about 3.30pm. The power went out across the state about 3.45pm, when there was heavy rain, lightning and thunder over the capital.
Kim Westcott, a Meteorologist with Fairfax Media's Weatherzone, said 130,000 lightning strikes hit the state from midnight to 5pm.
The entire state of South Australia was without power for several hours on Wednesday afternoon, with the region gripped by what could be one of the most extreme weather systems to hit in 50 years.
A mass blackout began about 3.30pm Wednesday afternoon, plunging the city into darkness, grounding flights and causing havoc on the state's roads.
Traffic lights were rendered inoperational, choking roads in the CBD. Building fire alarms blared across the city, according to local media reports, and residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on candles and matches.
By 7.30pm local time, power had been restored to some Adelaide suburbs including Gilberton, Hallett Cove and Kensington. It had been reported earlier that much of the state could be without power until 4.15am on Thursday.
Two severe storm fronts swept across SA on Wednesday, the first hitting Adelaide around lunchtime and the second about 3.30pm. The power went out across the state about 3.45pm, when there was heavy rain, lightning and thunder over the capital.
Kim Westcott, a Meteorologist with Fairfax Media's Weatherzone, said 130,000 lightning strikes hit the state from midnight to 5pm.