The first thunderstorm after three weeks of heat wave caused a blackout on Wednesday morning in Bulgarian capital Sofia and clogged traffic in the city.

More than half of the city, including Sofia's biggest residential districts Mladost, Lyulin and Druzhba, were left without electricity for one hour starting 6.15 am local time, as the lightning strikes damaged the power grid.

The pouring rain is overwhelming the sewerage system's ability to drain the water, creating big puddles that are slowing down traffic throughout the city.

It is still unknown whether the thunderstorm has damaged any traffic lights, the police said.

Sofia has not seen any major precipitation since the beginning of the summer, which has been very dry throughout the country, giving rise to scores of wildfires.

The dry and hot spell followed two months of thunderstorms in April in May, which routinely caused traffic problems in the city, as well as flooding in some of Sofia's outlying districts.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!