An average of 18 lightning strikes a minute electrified the sky on Sunday evening as the storm Canberra waited all weekend for finally hit.
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Weatherzone's Total Lightning Network recorded 4270 lightning strikes within 100 kilometres of Canberra from 8pm until midnight.
The long line of thunderstorms which swept through the ACT also produced heavy falls, with Mount Ginini picking up 51 millimetres, Weatherzone meteorologist Rob Sharpe said.
"Across the ACT places generally recorded about 20 millimetres including Canberra Airport which picked up 19 millimetres in the storm," Mr Sharpe said.
Luckily, no significant damage was recorded, with the ACT State Emergency Service only receiving eight call-outs.
This stormy start to November followed the hottest October on record.
Mr Sharpe said the ACT averaged maximum temperatures of 24.8 degrees, more than 5 degrees above the long term average.
"We've seen almost summer-like weather in the middle of October," he said.
There was a record-breaking 17 days where temperatures reached over 25 degrees, well above the average of three days, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
A severe heatwave throughout southern Australia help to smash early season temperature records.
The mercury catapulted to 31.7 degrees on October 5 and 31.8 degrees on October 6.
Previously, no day above 31 degrees had been detected prior to October 13.
The month also set a new record for the longest spell of warm nights in October, with 21 consecutive nights above 5 degrees between October 4 and 24.
It was as dry as it was hot, with only four days of rainfall above 1mm the entire month.
Mr Sharpe said while it's "quite typical" to see severe thunderstorms moving through this part of Australia during this transitional season, so far we haven't seen as many thunderstorms as usual.
"This week it's really ramped up. Monday and Tuesday will be fairly calm days across the ACT but we're going to be seeing rain developing," he said.
"Then on Thursday we're going to be seeing showers and thunderstorms spreading across the ACT with the risk that a number of storms across the ACT and NSW will become severe. It will be important to be following the warnings on those days."
