According to SMHI's lightning radar, thousands of lightning strikes have hit the Bay of Bothnia, Norra Kvarken, and the coastal areas of Västerbotten in the past few hours.

The radar shows how the thunderstorm is moving northwest and appears to be approaching the Skellefteå municipality. The image above shows the cloud positions at 14:00. The plus signs indicate each lightning strike that occurred between 13:45 and 14:00.

Reports have come in about very heavy rain between Lövånger and Bureå.

16:42
Update: Power cuts in the region

According to the latest information from Skellefteå Kraft, 4,000 households are without power.

– We have called in extra personnel who are on their way," says Matti Kataja at Skellefteå Kraft.

The thunderstorm is moving northward, and repairs will have to wait until the storm has passed.

– At the moment, we have no forecasts for when the disruptions will be resolved.

17:20
Update: Couple of thousand lightning strikes

– It was a band of heavy showers that passed over the area, says meteorologist Max Skyldt at SMHI.

– There were a couple of thousand lightning strikes.

In terms of precipitation, locally there has been over 10 millimeters in an hour, which is considered heavy showers.

– The band of showers is starting to weaken, and there is not as much thunder now. There might be some showers in the area during the evening.

17:30
Update: Trains cancelled across northern Sweden

– North of Gävle, only one track is open, says Anna Lih, communications director at Trafikverket (Swedish Transport Administration).

SJ (Swedish Railways) has chosen to cancel traffic heading north, and there are no forecasts for when the situation could improve.

– It's difficult to predict when multiple tracks can be reopened again considering the weather situation.
 

See live updates (in Swedish) here.