Northland news in brief: Nearly 400 lightning strikes in one night; $25,000 raised for a worthy cause

A low over Northland resulted in about 400 lightning strikes in the region overnight on Saturday. Photo / NZME

Northland experienced about 400 lightning strikes over land and sea within just 12 hours.

MetService said of that number, 188 were recorded over land between 6pm on Saturday and 6am on Sunday.

A front associated with a low was responsible for the lightning strikes.

A MetService meteorologist said more thunderstorms were unlikely over Northland this week when the weather should be mainly fine, with a few showers.

Temperatures will dip 1C or 2C from Wednesday when a cold front will affect the eastern parts of the North Island.

Rockquest finals
The Smokefreerockquest Northland final will take place at the Forum North in Whangārei this Wednesday.

The annual battle of youth bands will run from 7pm to 9.30pm and general admission tickets for adults are $22 and students $11.75.

Smokefreerockquest is New Zealand's only nationwide, live, original music, youth event that reaches audience of more than 10,000 every year. It began 33 years ago.

Lotto draws
No punter from Northland won big in Saturday's Lotto draw.

The biggest winner was someone at New Plymouth who won $1 million and an Aucklander who will take home $800,000 in Strike Four.

Powerball was not struck and has rolled over to Wednesday night, where the jackpot will be $10m.

The winning Lotto numbers were 12, 13, 23, 27, 30, 31 with Bonus number 32.

Hitch for Hope

More than $25,400 has been raised by the Hitch for Hope team who hitchhiked the length of the country to raise funds for suicide prevention and mental illness.

The group of international backpackers and New Zealanders started their walk in Cape Reinga on May 22 and made it to Bluff by May 31.

They hitched mainly in pairs, striking up conversations with drivers about suicide and mental health along the way. Auckland-based company United Industries matched donations dollar for dollar, which means they've hit their target of $50,000.

The group will present the total amount to mental health campaigner Mike King at the I Am Hope office in Auckland on July 2.

Road safety improvements
The Far North District Council has started on road safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists at three Far North towns with funding help from Waka Kotahi's Innovating Streets for People programme.

Kawakawa, Moerewa and Kaikohe communities have identified streets that are unsafe for tamariki walking and cycling to schools and marae.

The safety improvements include speed bumps, road markings and pedestrian crossings to reduce the speed of traffic and encourage walking and cycling.

Single-car crash
No one was injured when a car veered off the road and ended up into a bank.

The single-vehicle crash happened between George Rd and Durham Rd at Waipū Gorge about 2.15pm on Saturday.

Police attended the scene but no ambulance was required.