Dorset residents left unable to sleep during the thunderstorm captured some incredible pictures and footage of the event which lit up the skies for around three hours.

Mother nature put on a dazzling show with senior operational meteorologist with UK Met Office, Marco Petagna, tweeting almost 4,000 lightning strikes had occurred in Dorset in two hours just before 1am.

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Picture by Eric Barnes

Almost 4000 lightning 🌩 strikes Dorset last 2 hrs pic.twitter.com/MHL2ST7P87

— Marco Petagna (@Petagna) May 15, 2022

Bournemouth & Poole Weather tweeted: “Wow some spectacular lightning dancing it’s way across the Bournemouth skies. Best show since 2019 easily.”

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Scott Terrell

Wow some spectacular lightning dancing it’s way across the Bournemouth skies. Best show since 2019 easily.

— Bournemouth & Poole Weather (@BournemouthWea1) May 15, 2022

Fellow weather enthusiast Dorset Sun said: "The longevity of that storm was so impressive. Conditions were perfect to keep giving fuel to the storm. Must’ve lasted two to three hours."

Denis Clewes

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The Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning of thunderstorms for Bournemouth on Sunday.

Lightning over Christchurch by Robert Peter

The Met Office said that the warning could see flooding impact the area on Sunday night, with the warning currently active from 8pm Sunday, May 15 and 5am Monday, May 16.

Lightning over Barton on Sea by Suzanne Singleton

A spokesperson said: The Met Office said: “Although the locations affected by thunderstorms remains uncertain, a few places may experience a combination of heavy rain, frequent lightning and hail during Sunday night.

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Lightning over North Dorset by Mary Seer

“Should thunderstorms develop, they are likely to move north from the south coast during Sunday evening into parts of south Wales, southern England and East Anglia overnight before gradually weakening during Monday morning.

Lewis Johnstone Photography

"Whilst some places will remain dry, a few places may see 20-30 mm of rain fall in less than an hour, with frequent lightning and hail additional hazards.”

Nick Lucas (Image: Nick Lucas)

According to the Met Office, today will see more heavy rain around 11am and 12pm with things brightening up from 3pm onwards.

Bournemouth & Poole Weather said temperatures could reach 21C by Monday afternoon.

Richard Small

Posting on the Bournemouth Echo's Facebook page, one witness said: "Was incredible. Heard an almighty bang around 12.30am to 12.35am never heard anything like that before windows were shaking."

Looking ahead for the rest of this week, Dorset Sun said: "Sunshine and showers will be the theme this week. Some of these showers could be thundery at times, especially on Wednesday night. Feeling warm in sunshine with highs in the late teens/early twenties."