Lightning in Taranaki on Monday morning was incessant for about an hour.

Hundreds of lightning strikes hit Taranaki in the early hours of Monday morning.

Thunder which sounded like "gunshots" woke adults and children up across the region around 3am.

According to Skywatcher's Lightning Tracker there were 561 lightning strikes within an hour.

Shane Hall Shane Hall caught one of the lightning strikes on camera in New Plymouth.

Power was cut to more than 2000 properties, but the majority were back on by 5.30am.

In Waitara, 501 properties were expected to be without power until 10am, the Powerco website stated.

READ MORE: Severe thunderstorms and downpours expected overnight for North Island

lightningmaps.org Lightning struck Taranaki hundreds of times on Monday morning.

On Facebook many residents said they were awake and watching the storm.

"Yep! Kids woke up screaming and the power is off on Frankleigh Park," Shannen Taylor said.

"Yep, wide awake now in south Taranaki. Worried about my calves stampeding off the hillside," Maryanne Dudli said.

Skywatcher There were hundreds of lightning strikes near New Plymouth.

And many said they would find it difficult to go back to sleep.

"Yup I’m wide awake till daylight. Heard that storm coming though. Could hear the thunder rolling in," Harley Langl said.

Metservice said thunderstorms with potentially high rainfall rates of more than 25mm/h were moving into Taranaki early on Monday morning, and warned intense rainfall could cause surface or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips.