KEY POINTS:
Stargazers had a spectacular view of Mother Nature's fury when a lightning storm lit up Rangitoto skies last night.
Artist and weather watcher Simon Williams took the photo from his Mt Eden vantage point and captured the moment when the storm hit the Hauraki Gulf, around 6.30pm. It lasted about 30 minutes.
To get the image he had to keep the shutter open for between five and 10 seconds and use a tripod.
"What was unusual about this storm was that it happened on a fine day and we were able to observe the lightning within the clouds," Mr Williams said. "And with the full moon there was a bit of extra light around."
Bob McDavitt of the MetService said the display was caused by a moist northerly flow ahead of a front. He thought the electrical storm could have been 60 to 100km north of Auckland.
He expected the lightning would be followed by wet weather today.
