Switzerland struck by lightning more than 70.000 times in one night

After days of hot weather, Switzerland was battered by a strong summer storm on Tuesday night. The country was hit by more than 70.000 lightning strikes before the sun rose at around 5am.

Woman struck by lightning in Western Switzerland

The storm caused damage across all Swiss cantons and left some people with serious injuries. Blick reported that a woman in the town of Villars-sur-Glâne in Western Switzerland was struck by lightning and had to be taken to hospital. 

Along with the lightning, the storms overnight also brought with them strong winds of up to 114 km / h, which caused significant damage all over the country - uprooting trees, breaking cars and even damaging the roofs of some houses. The most severe thunderstorms were recorded in Ticino and the Gotthard region, although practically the whole country experienced a storm of some kind during the night. 

Swiss airports forced to stop air traffic

A number of Swiss airports were also affected by the storm. At Zurich Airport on July 11, check-ins were paused for around an hour before passengers were once again allowed to drop their bags and continue to the gates. Officials said they stopped operations for "safety reasons."

The emergency services were also called to the scene of a boat accident in Stäfa, Canton Zurich. Thankfully, the emergency responders were able to locate the capsized boat and tow it to safety - nobody was injured in the incident. 

Summer heat to return to Switzerland this weekend

Scattered heavy thunderstorms are expected to continue to move across Switzerland on July 12 and into July 13. Conditions will return to normal by the end Thursday, before temperatures warm up once more in time for the weekend.