After a night of severe gales for many in the North Island, winds have eased and there are no new weather warnings for Thursday.

A line of severe thunderstorms crossed Auckland and hit Great Barrier Island on Wednesday.

At the height of the storms on Wednesday, winds reached 120km/h in some parts of Auckland, hail bucketed down, power was cut and lightening struck three aircraft.

A fallen tree in Epsom, Auckland. Photo: Supplied / Brooke Steele

Strong gales across the Auckland region had blown trees and vegetation onto powerlines causing damage and network faults. Power was still out for many early Thursday morning.

Vector said crews were working through the night to assess the damage and said some assessments and repair plans may not be complete until Thursday.

Power outages Auckland, 5.30am Thursday. Photo: Screenshot / Vector

In Hamilton, 15,000 homes were without power for a while.

Power was still out for some in Waikato early Thursday morning, including around Te Akau and Raglan.

The Desert Road (SH1 Rangipo to Waiouru) closed on Wednesday night due to snow and a detour was in place.

Winds were forecast to remain blustery in many places on Thursday morning, MetService said.

The weather was expected to be pleasant for the long weekend.

This story was originally published by RNZ