Close to 200 lightning strikes and roads flooded knee-deep were the result of wild weather in the Bay of Plenty overnight.
After days of heavy rain warnings, the brunt of the weather came down hard on the region over the past 24 hours.
Tauranga's Kaimai Range saw a whopping 65mm of rain on Friday night and Saturday morning, while Rotorua saw 29mm.
There were about 180 lightning strikes across the Bay of Plenty in the same time period.
A complex low, lying to the west of Northland, was bringing associated fronts to many parts of the North Island. This was causing hard downpours and showers.
The hard rain was seen on the streets, specifically Tauranga.
Resident Erin McKenna was driving in Pāpāmoa yesterday when her vehicle struck heavy flooding on Dickson Rd.
She said she had seen small cars with their tyres almost fully submerged as water levels got to about half a metre in places.
Meanwhile across town this morning, traffic was slow-moving as surface flooding on Cameron Rd and 17th Ave caused a backup.
In Rotorua, drivers were exercising caution as mild surface flooding was seen in parts of Te Ngae Rd last night about 10pm.
Fire crews were not required for weather-related callouts in the region. However, council contractors were.
A Tauranga City Council spokeswoman said staff had been called to one report of flooding today.
Before heavy rainfall, contractors checked and cleared debris from stormwater grates and outlets.
A team of council staff also remained on standby during a storm for calls on things like flooding and fallen debris.
The region saw its fair share of minor crashes as the wild weather bore down.
A busy Tauranga intersection was left blocked this morning after a two-car crash on 15th Ave and Fraser St.
The vehicles were both blocking the road for about an hour and both cars were badly damaged.
Earlier in the night, a car flipped on the Cambridge Rd off-ramp on State Highway 2 resulting in a three-car crash. There were no injuries.
And although the rain was causing problems for some, rural property owners were cheering.
Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty provincial president Darryl Jensen said the rainfall had been "brilliant" and the semi-warm temperatures were going to be good for the season's growth rates.
He said there was a bit of surface water here and there but nonetheless, it was "well-received".
"The dry spell has well and truly been broken here, now it's time for everything underground to start charging up."
He said he was feeling for those drought-affected farmers in other regions of the country and the Te Puke Young Farmers club was rallying this week to get hay bales sent to those areas.
It was not over for some though.
A heavy rain watch had been issued for the Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Plenty north of Katikati from 11pm for 24 hours.
Periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms were expected with rainfall amounts possibly reaching warning criteria.
MetService meteorologist Andrew James said the wet weather would carry on for the most of the weekend, however, the region could expect fine spells to roll in on Monday.
This would last until Wednesday as cloud increases, with possible showers late Wednesday night.
The region could expect a bit of rainfall come Thursday.
Rotorua
Tomorrow: Periods of rain, easing in the evening. Southeasterlies. High of 15C, low of 10C.
Monday: Morning cloud, then fine. Southeasterlies. High of 16C, low of 7C.
Tuesday: Fine. Light winds. High of 15C, low of 5C.
Tauranga
Tomorrow: Periods of rain, heavy at times, easing in the evening. Winds tending southeast in the morning. High of 18C, low of 12C.
Monday: Few spots of early morning rain, then becoming fine. Southeasterly breezes. High of 19C, low of 10C.
Tuesday: Fine. Easterly breezes. High of 17C, low of 9C.
Whakatāne
Tomorrow: Periods of rain, easing in the evening. Winds tending southeast in the morning. High of 18C, low of 12C.
Monday: Some morning cloud, then fine. Southeasterlies. High of 18C, low of 8C.
Tuesday: Fine. Light winds. High of 17C, low of 6C.
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