Thick hail turns Aussie summer into winter

Freak summer weather hit large areas of drought-hit Australia's east coast on Wednesday, with a hail storm leaving ice blanketed across the capital Canberra and torrential rain causing flash flooding in Sydney.

While thunder storms are common in Canberra in the last month of summer, the rare hail storm left the national capital resembling snow-bound cities in the United States, with tractors sent out to clear ice from busy roads.

The hail storm forced some Canberra businesses and government departments to close due to storm and flood damage.

It left three feet of ice in parts of Canberra's central business district, and caused flooding and damage in over 60 buildings at the nearby Australian National University and the city's main shopping center, which were closed for the day.

"I can't remember the last time we've actually received hail that has piled up on the roads in such a large amount," Owen Offler from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology told Reuters.

The storms hit on the last day of a hot summer in Australia, much of which is enduring its sixth year of drought. In Canberra, authorities have imposed strict restrictions on household water use due to low water levels in its reservoirs.

Residents reported up to 2.7 inches of rain in an hour during the overnight storm, which also forced the evacuation of the top floor of the city's main police station.

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Offler said Canberra had already set a new record for the most thunderstorms recorded in a single month, with 14 so far in February.

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In Sydney, Australia's largest city, fierce storms caused flash flooding in several parts of the sprawling city's southwest later on Wednesday.

One man was taken to hospital in a stable condition after he was hit by a bolt of lightning.

Power was cut to about 8,500 homes in the area, officials said, while peak-hour commuters were warned to expect long delays on public transport.