Air New Zealand has been forced to cancel two of its flights after a plane was struck by lightning after departing Auckland.
Air New Zealand's flight NZ429 left Auckland bound for Wellington on Wednesday when it was hit by lightning in mid-air at about 1pm. As a result, the plane was forced to turn around.
One person said on Twitter that passengers were told to go home and rebook their flight for Thursday.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson told Newshub that lightning strikes aren't uncommon and their pilots are prepared for them.
It comes as wild weather lashes parts of the country.
MetService said Wednesday has been a "big day for thunderstorms" for Auckland and Waikato. The thunderstorms have been bringing bursts of heavy rain and a risk of strong wind gusts to the regions.
The storm activity is forecast to move eastwards towards the Bay of Plenty.
A tornado even lifted a roof in the town of Paeroa.
Fire and Emergency NZ said in statement they "were called to assist with a roof lifting in Paeroa, Hauraki District".
The caretaker of the holiday park Paeroa RV Centre told the NZ Herald residents were terrified as a tornado lifted the roof of the campground's hall.
"I saw it coming from over the back of the thing [hall], it came through the trees and ripped branches off when it just smashed the hall," he said.
