Tairawhiti was treated to a spectacular lightning show as a thunderstorm rolled in on Saturday night, bringing with it hundreds of varying lightning strikes recorded by MetService. 

Signs were ominous earlier in the day as rumbling thunder could be heard and some rain fell, but that was merely a curtain-raiser to the big show, which did not start until hours later. Residents keen to get a front-row seat to the action and headed to city beaches and other places such as Titirangi Kaiti Hill with phones and cameras in hand. The star of the show arrived in the city after 10.30pm with the intensity of an AC/DC concert, and among those to capture a memorable performance was Angus Bodle, who took this spectacular photo from Titirangi, which he posted on the popular Current Gisborne & Surrounding Districts Facebook page. 

\Not surprisingly, it got a big response, with one person commenting that "the thunder was the biggest roar I've ever experienced". With it came moderate to heavy rain, which some people saying it lasted only about 20 minutes in their part of town and others as long as an hour. Gisborne Airport recorded 8.8 millimetres of rainfall on Saturday.