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Four walkers have been taken to hospital after a lightning strike on one of the most popular trails in the Blue Mountains.
Paramedics were told three women and a man in their 20s walking the Three Sisters track at Echo Point were holding onto a steel handrail when the lightning hit.
NSW Ambulance said one of the women fell and hit her head after the strike but all four managed to walk back along the path towards Katoomba.
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Paramedics, who were called to the area about 3.15pm, treated them all for injuries and took them to Blue Mountains Hospital in a stable condition.
Blue Mountains City Council said the storm caused "chaos" in the area, leaving a "large number" of tourists sheltering in the Echo Point Visitor Information Centre.
The storm flooded several council buildings, including the visitor centre and the headquarters, and knocked out power to the contact centre.
Mayor Mark Greenhill said his thoughts were with the injured walkers and praised "quick thinking" visitor centre staff for calling NSW Ambulance.
"I ask people to take care for your own safety and the safety of others," he said, in a statement.
"Take precautions when outside, including driving safely and watching out for any hazards including fallen trees and power lines, flooding and water over roads.
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"Given previous major rain events have caused landslides and trees to come down, we are asking residents and visitors to take extreme care when outdoors and in parks and natural areas."
The council earlier said two people had been taken to hospital.
Further south, parts of the Illawarra, Southern Tablelands, Central West Slopes and Plains, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, South Coast and Riverina forecast districts remained under a storm warning last night.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned of possible flash flooding, damaging winds and large hailstones in storms triggered by an upper trough.
The warning was issued about 10pm, hours after Nerriga in the Southern Tablelands copped a 104km/h wind gust and 54 millimetres of rain was dumped on Durran Durra, about 65 kilometres east of Canberra, in just an hour.
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