Heavy rain and thunderstorms have caused slips and power outages in the North Island.
Police say contractors are working to clear slips and free motorists currently stuck on State Highway 2 in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
NZTA closed the highway between Ōpōtiki and Matawai due to heavy rain earlier on Friday morning, which triggered multiple slips and flooding near Waioeka Gorge.
Police said some vehicles can't get through because they're stuck between slips, but diggers are clearing the road.
Earlier reports suggested a car was trapped in rising floodwaters, but police believe it is in fact stuck at a campsite due to slips.
Both police and NZTA are advising motorists to avoid the area until the weather eases and the roads are cleared.
Thunderstorms, heavy rain and localised downpours have drenched parts of the North Island today.
⚡Sparks Flew!!⚡
— MetService NZ (@MetService) January 15, 2026
In total over the country and surrounding waters, there were almost 18,000 lightning strikes. The table shows how many were over each region.
There is still plenty of action going, particularly around eastern Bay of Plenty Bay so Whanganui might get bumped… pic.twitter.com/KBfEi2EOfH
MetService said the thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by torrential rain.
A severe thunderstorm watch remains in place for Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Tararua and Wairarapa.
A heavy rain watch has been issued for Nelson and Tasman from Friday evening until Saturday morning.
Photo: Twitter / @MetService
The North Island has also been hit by almost 18,000 lightning strikes, MetService says.
Meanwhile, residents in Auckland's Northcote Point were without power on Friday morning, after a stormy night.
The city was hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight.
Energy company Vector has reported an outage at Northcote Point at about 6.30am on Friday. It said work was underway to resolve the issue, and power is expected to be restored between 10 and 11am on Friday.
It comes after reports of small tornadoes in the North Island on Thursday.
A tornado happened near Orewa, north of Auckland, at about 7pm.
The second reported tornado was seen near the Waikato town of Ōtorohanga.
Luke Care and his wife live in Maihiihi, near the town, and he said the tornado formed very quickly.
The first thing they noticed was the power going out.
"I looked out the window and holy smokes, there's this giant tornado ripping through the neighbour's property, it's quite scary actually," he said.
He told RNZ it looked like a small water spout at first, and when he grabbed his camera it accelerated and "formed just a full on tornado".
The tornado carried on up into the mountains and then faded off in the distance, Care said.
On Friday morning, severe storm warnings were issued for parts of Bay of Plenty and MetService said more warnings could be issued throughout the day.
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