Hailstones three centimetres wide pelted the Wellington region on Wednesday afternoon as the area is under a severe thunderstorm watch.
Wild weather is lashing New Zealand, with many areas under severe weather warnings and watches.
Kapiti-Horowhenua and Wellington are under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9pm on Wednesday.
MetService said showers are forecast for Wellington, Horowhenua, and Kapiti Coast, and some of these showers will be heavy with hail.
In Johnsonville, north of Wellington, hailstones two to three centimetres wide fell on Wednesday as the thunderstorm moved south.
An off-duty meteorologist from MetService captured a photo of two hailstones that had fallen in the area, showing just how severe the weather is.
Also in the southern North Island area, there's a risk of a few thunderstorms, with a moderate chance that one or two of them could become severe until evening.
"These severe thunderstorms, if they occur, could bring very heavy rain, large hail and the risk of damaging winds gusting greater than 110km/h," MetService said.
"Large hail can cause significant damage to crops, orchards, vines, glass-houses and vehicles, as well as make driving conditions hazardous. Wind gusts of this strength can cause some structural damage, including trees and power lines, and may make driving hazardous."
Also under a severe thunderstorm watch are Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Waitomo, and Taranaki. It lasts from 6am to 12pm on Thursday,
An active front is expected to move across the west and north of the North Island during Thursday morning, bringing squally thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail and a slight chance of a small tornado.
MetService said there's a moderate risk of these thunderstorms becoming severe, producing damaging wind gusts over 110 km/h.
"Wind gusts of this strength can cause some structural damage, including trees and power lines, and may make driving hazardous," they said.
There is an orange heavy rain warning for Buller and Westland, lasting into Thursday, as well as heavy rain and strong wind watches for parts of New Zealand.
