More than 200 lightning strikes and winds measuring 122kmh have hit Auckland as severe thunderstorms battered the Upper North Island.

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A trough bringing strong winds, squally thunderstorms, heavy rain and possible "damaging tornadoes" was moving east across the North Island late Tuesday morning into the early afternoon.

MetService duty meteorologist Tom Adams confirmed the severe thunderstorm watch had been lifted as of 1.25pm.

The thunderstorms had passed over the city, taking the heavy rain with them, though there were some showers to come this afternoon, he said.

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CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF Power lines have come down at Piha, blocking the road.

However, a strong wind warning was still in place over the region – peaking between 7pm and midnight, with gales up to 120kmh.

Thunderstorms were forecast to return on Wednesday afternoon, with potential hailstorms, Adams said.

The trough was likely to bring a period of heavy rain and "sustained, strong, damaging" winds.

METSERVICE A thunderstorm cell is currently moving across Auckland and the Upper North Island, bringing heavy rain and strong winds with it.

Between 11am-1pm, 247 lightning strikes hit the Auckland/Northland region, MetService said.

Thunderstorms were beginning to move across the Karikari Peninsula to Great Exhibition Bay and Aupouri Peninsula shortly before 1pm.

MetService earlier recorded winds of 122 kmh at Manukau Heads and 85 kmh at Whenuapai.

VECTOR There were 14 power outages across Auckland, affecting thousands, as of 1pm.

There had been multiple calls about trees and power lines down across Auckland, a Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said.

Power lines had come down in Piha, in north west Auckland, blocking the road.

There was also a widespread power outage across from Tapora across to Wellsford and Te Hana, 33 kilometres away.

About 1400 homes in Whangaparaoa in north Auckland were without power and a further 14 outages had been recorded across the city as of 1.30pm.

A spokeswoman for Vector said the cause of the Whangaparaoa fault was unknown at this stage, but lightning strikes had been recorded in the area.

Trees falling onto power lines caused an outage across the Te Atatu South-Glen Eden area earlier, cutting power to approximately 4000 homes and businesses.

The power cut forced Pak'nSave and Harvey Norman on Alderman Dr to close around midday.

Supermarket staff told customers the shop would be closed until further notice.



Crews were working to restore power to the remaining 464 customers as of 1.20pm, and anticipated full restoration by 2pm.

A cell bringing torrential rain and "dangerous" cloud-to-ground lightning was closing in on Waiheke Island around 12.20pm, according to NIWA.

Vector's network programme delivery manager Minoru Frederiksens, said the public should be aware of the potential hazards strong winds and heavy rains can create throughout the region.

"Trees coming into contact with lines and cars colliding with power poles in the wet, are both possibilities today and throughout the night until the worst of the storm is expected to pass," he said.

"And most importantly, please, always treat downed lines as live and stay well clear."

Eleven flights had been cancelled as of 1.30pm.



A spokeswoman for Air New Zealand said weather conditions were causing some disruption to services, with a number of regional flights delayed or cancelled earlier this morning.

"Customers booked to travel today are advised to keep an eye on the arrivals and departures page of Air New Zealand's website for up to date flight information as our operations teams aren't in a position to provide us port by port details," the spokeswoman said.