At least 50 lightning strikes recorded over Auckland

As winter weather makes it presence felt in Auckland today, there have been at least 50 lightning strikes recorded in the city today.

The half-century of lightning strikes was confirmed in a tweet by NIWA at around around midday today.

Severe thunderstorm watches for North Island 

Very heavy rain was seen in Auckland around noon today.

Red-level severe thunderstorm watches are in place in Northland as far south as Whangārei, while yellow-level watches have been put in place in Auckland, the Coromandel and the west coast beaches as far south as Raglan.

The watches are currently in place until 6am Friday morning and it's warned that the storms could bring wind gusts up to 100km/h, small tornadoes, and heavy rain of 10-20 millimetres per hour.