Although I spent much of today at work, I just wanted to talk about something I have been waiting to see since I got to Melbourne. As some of my close friends and family know, I'm a sucker for a good thunderstorm.

Newcastle tends not to get very many or interesting thunderstorms, but Melbourne can muster a good thunderstorm when it wants. So it was today.

I spent much of the day following my usual routine, but at around 3:30 I noticed the room I was working in got very dark, as dark as night in fact. This immediately caught my attention as it was far too early for sunset, and so I packed up my gear and headed to the roof of the hostel.

As I headed onto the roof I noticed all the windows and doors had signs on them warning people not to open them - see photos. I looked outside and saw the single darkest cloud I have ever seen. I immediately felt giddy and checked the weather forecast, sure enough to find thunderstorms were forecast for the rest of the day.

Pleased at the forecast, I sat myself outside and watched as the cloud barrelled in and the thunder started. I have never been to Florida, but a friend has told me that the storms there are unlike anything you see anywhere else. I'd imagine what happened today would rival that. The cloud rolled right past the hostel and into the CBD, and with seconds I was unable to see buildings right in front of me. The lightning was immense. Flash flooding immediately took the streets, with many people stranded in shops waiting for the storm to pass.

The whole event was thoroughly entertaining, and true to form Melbourne returned to glorius sunshine after about 4 hours. This was definitely an experience I will never forget. Although I didnt manage to get any photos of the lightning, I did grab some of the flooding in the streets and how it looked as the storm passed.

Ian.