Lightning strikes cause fires in Auckland during severe storm, rain passes over Far North

Lightning strikes caused three fires in Auckland Friday afternoon, as violent thunderstorms moved across the region.

A red alert went out for Kaipara, Auckland City, Waitākere, Franklin, Rodney and Albany about 3pm and lifted just after 4pm but a thunderstorm watch remains in place.

Fire and Emergency shift manager Colin Underdown said fire crews responded to about 30 jobs, including lightning-related blazes in Westhaven, Westmere and Albany.

There were also a small number of properties affected by surface flooding.

Lines company Vector reported a handful of power outages, mainly in the north and west of the region.

Delays and cancelations on the east-west and Onehunga-west rail lines from a storm-related power outage between Sunnyvale and Mangawhau was likely to cause further travel disruption.

The barrier arms at Rossgrove Terrace level crossing were down after a power cut caused a signaling fault.

An Auckland Airport spokesperson says a lightning alert was in place for around 20 minutes this afternoon, which meant a small number of aircraft were unable to refuel, in line with standard safety procedures.

There were no resulting impacts to flight schedules, they say.

Metservice has now cancelled the severe weather warning for the Auckland region though a thunderstorm watch remains in place until 11am Saturday.

Heavy rain in Northland

A band of heavy rain passing over the top of the Far North has so far caused no significant flooding, Kaitāia's fire chief says.

In fact, Craig Rogers said every farmer in the district and every homeowner relying on rainwater tanks would be delighted with the downpour after an unusually dry spring so far.

"We've had a good bit of warm rain, with thunder mixed in. It's not enough but the farmers will be happy."

Rogers said the rain peaked around 1pm and had now eased to showers.

The rain was light enough now that he was able to go back to his golf after taking shelter at the proverbial 19th hole.

"We just sat it out," he said.

Around 2pm the MetService rain radar showed the band of heavy rain making its way south over Northland with particularly intense falls over Doubtless Bay, inland from the Bay of Islands and over the Kaipara Harbour.

A severe thunderstorm watch is in place for all of Northland and Auckland until 9pm Friday, and again from midnight until 11am on Saturday.

Saturday's severe thunderstorm watch also applies to Aotea-Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupō and Taranaki.

Northland Regional Council rainfall data shows the heaviest rain so far, 30mm per hour, was recorded near Pawarenga in North Hokianga in the hour to 1pm.

Further south, Hakaru, near Kaiwaka, and the often dry Pouto Peninsula, both in the Kaipara District, were also experiencing heavy rain.

Regional council records show the last significant rain in the Kaitāia area was in mid-September.

Read back on how the storm unfolded: