A volatile spring week is expected after intense thunderstorms raged through the North Island at the weekend, plunging thousands of homes into darkness.
On Saturday night, 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded, 1300 in Auckland alone.
The spectacular storm caused a tree to catch fire in Conifer Grove and, in Ellerslie,
Jason Darrow woke up to find a palm tree had smashed through a fence into his garden.
The roof of one Albany home is understood to have caught fire, causing extensive damage but no injuries. Wind gusts were clocked at up to 128km/h.
MetService meteorologist Rob Kerr said it would be another hectic spring week, with the El Nino system bringing a constant changing of weather systems.
