Northlanders were caught off guard by hail pounding their roofs and blanketing their lawns during a storm. But in typical Northland fashion, the hail quickly melted as the sun came out on Saturday.
Kiri-Maree Rodger, 7, said the hail was icy cold and tasted good.
Long-time Whangarei resident Siaan Rodger had put clothes out to dry late morning, just before the storm struck.
"You never would have known it was coming," Mrs Rodger said.
She said her kids loved the hail and had not seen anything like it before. "It was almost like snow."