Wild weather: Lightning strikes Sky Tower multiple times overnight

Spectacular images have emerged of lightning striking Auckland's Sky Tower overnight.

The Sky Tower was struck by lightning multiple times as part of an impressive natural light show last night.

The latest impressive images were taken from Stonefields, east of Auckland, by 12-year-old Eloise Maingay.

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The Auckland region was hit by about 400 lightning strikes during the three-hour period.

MetService forecaster Allister Gorman said it was unusual to see lightning and thunder two days in a row anywhere in New Zealand which is what had occurred in Auckland on Sunday and then Monday.

Most of the Auckland thunderstorms on Monday were around Helensville and Kaipara Harbour and there was a moderate risk of thunderstorms until this morning.

It came as parts of West Auckland recorded close to 90mm of rain in the 12 hours to 1am.

Sky Tower is prone to lightning strikes due its height and has been struck many times over the years.

The 328m tower was built using sophisticated lightning protection which includes an air terminal, a down-conductor, a lightning event counter, and a low impedance grounding system to withstand strikes.