Severe thunderstorm warnings issued in Auckland and Northland

Metservice has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Auckland and Northland.

Metservice said their radars have detected severe thunderstorms for this afternoon but expects them to move south.

Areas near the detected storms include Helensville, Wellsford, Kaukapakapa, Kaipara Flats, Woodhill, Ahuroa, Parakai, Okahukura Peninsula, Makarau, Glorit, Tauhoa, Shelly Beach and Port Albert.

"These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by very heavy rain," Metservice said in a statement.

"Very heavy rain can cause surface and/or flash flooding about streams, gullies and urban areas, and make driving conditions extremely hazardous."

The warnings come after a staggering 33,218 lightning strikes were recorded across the country in the last 24 hours.

27,087 of those were recorded in the North Island and 175 in the South Island.

The rest were recorded off-shore, mostly off the shore of Taranaki.

Metservice said this was very remarkable as most lightning strikes are usually off-shore, however 80 per cent of lightning strikes in the last 24 hours were inland.