Powerlines and a tree have come down as wet weather lashes the upper North Island.
A severe weather warning is in place, with parts of the country set to get soaked on Wednesday.
MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for western Bay of Plenty, Tauranga and Rotorua.
"These severe thunderstorms are moving towards the southeast, and are expected to lie near Te Puke, Papamoa, and Paengaroa at 10:22am and near Te Puke, Pukehina, Pongakawa Valley and Paengaroa 10:52am," the weather agency said.
"These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by torrential rain and damaging wind gusts. Torrential rain can cause surface and/or flash flooding about streams, gullies and urban areas, and make driving conditions extremely hazardous.
"Very strong wind gusts can break branches from trees, damage roofing, and make driving hazardous especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles."
MetService said wind gusts of 80 to 90km/h were also likely, with thunderstorms forecast for Hauraki Gulf, Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty.
"There is also a low risk of one or two small tornadoes mainly near the coast," it warned.
Fire communications told Newshub there were no tornadoes reported yet, however there were a couple of weather-related call-outs in Thames.
Firefighters were called to two incidents of fallen powerlines and one report of a fallen tree, however there were no other issues to report around the northern region.
PowerCo is reporting 825 properties are currently experiencing outages, including 243 unplanned outages in Thames.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) added that over 600 lightning strikes had struck along and just offshore from the Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty between 8:30am and 9:30am on Wednesday.
"The worst of the weather remains just offshore of the Bay of Plenty," NIWA said. "The safest place to be during a thunderstorm is indoors."
MetService meteorologist Clare O'Connor told Newshub on Wednesday morning that rain was the bigger risk.
She said with showers and lightning there is the risk of tornadoes, but people will most likely see strong wind gusts that are forecast for the upper North Island, including Marsden Point and Whangaparāoa.
Auckland would also experience "noticeable gusts", she said.
Meanwhile, the heaviest rain is expected in Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and the Tasman District, where heavy rain watches are in force.
O'Connor said the main risks were downpours that are "short and heavy".
When asked about flooding she said there "can be" a risk, but it depends on how dry or wet the soil is.
"It can happen with these bursts of rain."
O'Connor advised Kiwis, especially in northern regions, to take a raincoat with them on Wednesday.
"A low pressure system in the Tasman Sea is expected to move eastwards across New Zealand during Wednesday, bringing rain to central and northern regions," said MetService's website.
"People are advised to keep up to date with the latest forecasts, in case these are upgraded or further areas are added."
As for our largest cities, it's a soggy start in Auckland with periods of rain, possibly heavy and thundery, but easing to a few showers by late morning. Northeasterly winds are forecast to be strong in exposed places but will ease in the afternoon.
Wellington is better, but Kiwis should still pack an umbrella in the capital with occasional rain expected. Northerlies will turn southerly around midday before easing off.
Christchurch is looking fine, aside from a chilly low of just 1C, but it's looking dry and cloudy with possible rain in the evening.
Dunedin and Invercargill are both fine.
There are no weather warnings in place for these areas.
