Ungarra woman hit by hailstone the size of a golf ball, as storms wreak havoc in South Australia

A woman in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula has been injured by a hailstone the size of a golf ball as a storm wrecked havoc in parts of the state.

Parts of South Australia were caught in a storm overnight, with the State Emergency Service called to more than 80 jobs since the storm began on Thursday evening.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said there were about 12,000 lightening strikes recorded over the past 24 hours.

The Eyre Peninsula was hit the worst and many locals have been left with damaged homes and cars.

Catherine Gail from Ungarra, near Tumby Bay, was hit by a hailstone the size of a golf ball when she rushed outside to move her car on Thursday.

She said when the storm first rolled in, it looked as though there were multiple tornados about to rip through the town.

“I got hit in the face and the back of the head, and it was just absolutely pelting into everything,” Gail said.

“It hurt at the time, and I did see stars for quite a bit. I’ve got a bit of a headache, but I don’t feel too bad.”

Eyre Peninsula local Susy Gurney described the sound of the wind during the storm “like a freight train had come in”.

Her patio roof will have to be replaced because it is now covered in holes from hail stones that smashed through the plastic.

“It was really scary stuff,” Gurney said.

“It was white everywhere.”

BOM no longer has a thunderstorm warning for South Australia.

The forecast for Friday is 16C for metropolitan Adelaide.

There is a chance of a thunderstorm about the Hills and southern suburbs in the morning and early afternoon.

Thunderstorms are also predicted for central and eastern parts of the state.

BOM said another low-pressure system and associated troughs and cold fronts were moving across the south of the state.

Temperatures would likely drop next week as a result.