Source: Radio New Zealand
Wild weather around Taranaki, 15 Janaury 2026. Marios Wheeler / supplied
Coastal Taranaki residents and visitors were treated to an impressive lightning show on Thursday night as thunderstorms crossed the country.
Keen photographer Marios Wheeler, who shared videos on the Extreme Weather Taranaki and NZ Storm Chasers Facebook pages said he had never seen anything like it.
A visitor from Kapiti, he said the skies on the Opunake side of Taranaki Maunga were clear, and lightning strikes from the Stratford side of the mountain were lighting up the volcano in a dramatic fashion.
Teenager Kayen Price also shared video from Opunake. He said Taranaki was backlit by dozens of lightning strikes from about midnight through to 1am.
Dana McMurray – who was helping repair electrical faults caused by the storm on Friday – also shared video of the phenomenon.
MetService said thunderstorms on Friday were expected to be accompanied by torrential rain.
Thursday’s wild weather included a number of tornadoes across the North Island.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
