Thousands of lightning strikes in upper North Island
Parts of the upper North Island experienced "quite a bit of thunderstorm activity" overnight, with thousands of lightning strikes recorded.
Shortly after 10.30pm, MetService issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Northland and Auckland from 11pm.
This was lifted at 4am, but Aucklanders reported still hearing booming thunder and seeing lightning strikes into the early morning.
MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden told 1News there had been "quite a bit of thunderstorm activity overnight and early hours of this morning" in Auckland and Northland.
He said there were approximately 2000 lightning strikes largely focused in the Kaipara Harbour area about 1am.
ADVERTISEMENT
A large lightning strike was captured on 1News weather cam at the Sky Tower this morning. (Source: 1News)
"But then as we've had people waking up this morning around 6am or so, there's been another band further south which has been impacting the Auckland area and it's been trending past 3000 strikes.
"At this point, there's probably been closer to about 4000 strikes since midnight," he said.
NIWA reported that more than 5000 lightning strikes were observed over the upper North Island and adjacent waters from 12am to 7am Monday.
The day ahead
Lynden said lightning and thunder was still expected to continue "largely offshore Auckland".
ADVERTISEMENT
'I think as the sun starts to rise and things settle down; it'll mostly move off. So in the next hour or so things should begin to clear up for you guys.'
He said there had been some heavy showers this morning associated with the thunderstorms, which were expected to become isolated in the afternoon and clear to finer breaks toward the evening.
Lynden said "for the rest of the country, it's much the same story".
"After a very cold weekend and a bit of quite a bit of rain about the place easing this morning, with a bit more mild temperatures.
He said it would not be "quite as cold as it has been over the weekend".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Weather: North Island set for severe thunderstorms, flash floods possible
MetService says surface flooding and flash flooding is possible. Photo: MetService/Supplied Much of the upper North Island is forecast to be hit by severe thunderstorms and possible surface flooding late on Tuesday. MetService predicts that the thunderstorms could bring downpours of between 25 and 40mm per hour. It said surface flooding and flash flooding were possible. ⚡Severe Thunderstorm Watch⚡ Time: 4pm - midnight Tue, 10 June Areas: Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, northern Coromandel Peninsula, and western areas of Waikato, Waitomo and Taranaki. An active front is expected to move eastwards onto the North Island late this… Severe thunderstorm watches are in place for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island and western Waikato. Northern Coromandel Peninsula, Waitomo and Taranaki have also been included. A heavy rain watch has also been issued for the Bay of Plenty. The thunderstorm watches are in place from 4pm until midnight, with Bay of Plenty's heavy rain watch in place from 7pm until 6am Wednesday. MetService said conditions should begin to ease in western areas from 9pm. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Thunderstorms forecast for parts of North Island
weather national 37 minutes ago A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Waitomo, and Taranaki. MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane spoke to Charlotte Cook.
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Heavy fog disrupts flights at Auckland Airport
Heavy fog blankets Auckland on 10 the morning of June. Photo: RNZ Dozens of domestic flights at Auckland Airport have been delayed or cancelled due to a thick fog enveloping the city this morning. About 23 flights were delayed and 9 flights were cancelled due to the fog. But the Airport says fog restrictions have been lifted about 7am. International flights have not been affected. The fog is expected to give way to showers and thunderstorms later, NIWA says. Meanwhile, parts of the South Island have again woken up to sub-zero temperatures this morning, with Mount Cook the lowest in the country at -10degC. It's followed by Lake Tekapo at -9deg and Central Otago at -4deg. It's also chilly on the North Island's Desert Road at -3.7deg. MetService says there may be thunderstorms to Northland this morning, and Auckland this afternoon.
