- Thunderstorms rolled across Auckland early this morning, with residents reporting power cuts, shaking houses and terrified pets.
- There were 750 lightning strikes in Auckland as the “conga line” of thunderstorms was pushed into the city by Cyclone Tam, MetService says.
- Residents described the thunderstorms as the worst they’d experienced in the city.
Power outages, shaking houses, blaring car alarms, terrified pets and baked beans at 1am – it was a wild night for thousands as thunder and lightning crashed and flashed across New Zealand’s biggest city early this morning.
There were 750 lightning strikes across Auckland between about midnight and 4.30am, MetService confirmed, in a late flick from Cyclone Tam that pushed a “conga line” of thunderstorms over the city.
“Right, why have I been woken up by a biblical storm?” an English holidaymaker asked on Reddit’s Auckland subreddit at 1am.
“I have no idea if this is normal, but is everyone else awake?”