Videos have captured Auckland’s Sky Tower being struck by lightning amid heavy rain and hail this evening.
It comes as unstable westerlies move onto the North Island late this afternoon and evening, according to MetService.
In one video, the Sky Tower can be seen being struck with lightning in the distance, followed by a loud boom of thunder.
In a second video, flashes of purple can be seen as the iconic tower is illuminated by a fork of lightning.
It follows an amber alert warning issued for the Auckland Harbour Bridge from 6pm tonight to 7am tomorrow.
Under an amber alert, speeds are reduced and some lanes close on the bridge and under a red alert, all lanes on the bridge are closed.
Westerly winds of 75-85km/h have been forecast for this evening, with the "potential for winds to briefly rise to 90-100km/h", Waka Kotahi said.
"Winds should remain strong throughout much of Thursday, but at this stage there is a low risk of winds becoming strong enough to signal a red alert."
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