A man has died and a woman has been injured after being hit by lightning while camping at Mt Warning, on the NSW mid-north coast, police say.

The man and the woman were camping at the summit, which is about 1.1km above sea level.

It is understood the woman has been taken to a local hospital and is being treated for head and neck injuries.

The authorities were bringing the man’s body down the mountain.

Authorities could not use a helicopter in the rescue due to poor visibility.

Rhett Murray, from the Murwillumbah rescue service, said the operation could be a slow process.

“It’s a two-and-a-half hour walk, then chains to the top so it’s going to be a vertical rescue involving lowering people off the summit and then the walk back down again,” he said.

Walk popular with tourists

The five-hour round trip walk is popular with tourists who regularly climb to watch the sunrise from the summit.

Mount Warning, near Murwillumbah in northern NSW, is a popular tourist destination. Photo: AAP.

Last night the state’s north was lashed by rolling storms and constant lightning.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said more storms could be headed for the region on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Murray described Mt Warning as known for its wild weather.

“The mountain is a draw point for bad weather so it’s a bit precarious at the moment,” he said.

“Obviously the storm has gotten bigger than what they [the campers] expected, more intense and they just happened to be on the highest peak in the area.”

Wild night in NSW

Further south, strong winds, hail, lightning and thunder lashed the NSW mid-north coast overnight.

Wind gusts of around 80km brought down trees which then damaged powerlines in other parts of the region.

There were widespread power outages.

Coffs Harbour SES acting controller Bill Roffe said it was a wild night.

“It was a bit rough, great light show, plenty of noise, very strong winds,” he said.

“There was about 30-odd millimetres of rain.”

More to come.