The thunder storm which hit Rotorua last night and woke many were part of a very active front that passed over the city - with hundreds of lightning strikes recorded.
And the bad news is forecasters say it's part of a very active autumnal phase which is likely to see two more lots of bad weather come through over the coming days.
Metservice forecaster Tom Adams said two fronts passed over the city last night, one between about 8pm and 9pm and another burst between 12.30am and 3am.
"The band was very intense at the point it crossed over Rotorua."
Mr Adams said it was hard to say just how many lightning strikes Rotorua had, but the first band had about 700 stokes per hour, with the second about 200 strikes per hour "but a lot more localised".