A severe weather front swept across the North Island, delivering intense thunderstorms, heavy downpours, hail, strong winds, and even a tornado in the Manawatū region. The weather authority issued a severe thunderstorm watch for multiple areas including Northland, Auckland, and Great Barrier Island up to 5pm, and extended watches for the Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, and Taupō until 6pm. As the system lingered, conditions could intensify this afternoon with bursts of rainfall reaching 25 to 40 millimetres per hour in localized spots, before activity subsided later in the evening.
Video surveillance captured a lightning strike hitting Auckland’s Sky Tower, which stands at 328 metres tall, around midday. A reported tornado in Manawatū caused property damage, uprooting trees and overturning a caravan at a motor park, injuring one person. The broader low-pressure system was expected to move across central and northern regions today and shift eastward on Thursday, prompting a range of watches and warnings.
Forecasts warned that Bay of Plenty, including Rotorua, and parts of Gisborne/Tairāwhiti north of Ruatoria and inland ranges could accumulate up to 120 millimetres of rain, with the heaviest totals east of Ōpōtiki. An orange-heavy-rain warning remained in effect for that area through midnight.
Peak rainfall rates were anticipated around 15 to 25 millimetres per hour, with localised pockets potentially reaching 25 to 40 millimetres per hour. The top of the South Island wasn’t spared, with watches issued for Marlborough, Nelson’s inland ranges, and the Kaikōura coast.
Complete watches and warnings summary
Severe Thunderstorm Watch
- Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island: active from 9:30am to 5:00pm today (7 hours 30 minutes).
- Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupō: active from 1:00pm to 6:00pm today (5 hours).
Orange Heavy Rain Warning
- Bay of Plenty (including Rotorua) and Gisborne/Tairāwhiti north of Ruatoria: 11:00am Wednesday to 11:00pm Wednesday (12 hours).
Heavy Rain Watch
- Northland: 9:00am to 5:00pm Wednesday (8 hours).
- Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula: 10:00am Wednesday to 9:00pm Wednesday (11 hours).
- Central North Island regions of Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taupō, Taihape, and inland Whanganui: 12:00pm to 9:00pm Wednesday (9 hours).
- Taranaki: 11:00am Wednesday to 3:00am Thursday (16 hours).
- Wairarapa: 9:00am Wednesday to 5:00am Thursday (20 hours).
- Wellington’s eastern hills and ranges: 9:00am Wednesday to 3:00am Thursday (18 hours).
- Kaikōura coast: 9:00am Wednesday to midnight Wednesday (15 hours).
- The Chatham Islands: 2:00pm Wednesday to 10:00am Thursday (20 hours).
Strong Wind Watch
- Northland, Auckland, including Great Barrier Island: 9:00pm Wednesday to 7:00am Thursday (10 hours).
- Taranaki: 8:00pm Wednesday to 5:00am Thursday (9 hours).
- Eastern Tararua District and Hawke’s Bay south of Cape Kidnappers, plus Māhia Peninsula: 12:00am Wednesday to 1:00pm Thursday (13 hours).
- Horowhenua to Wellington: 4:00pm Wednesday to 5:00am Thursday (13 hours).
- Wairarapa: 7:00pm Wednesday to 10:00am Thursday (15 hours).
- Marlborough and Nelson east of Wakefield, plus eastern Nelson Lakes region: 5:00pm Wednesday to 3:00am Thursday (10 hours).
- The Chatham Islands: 6:00pm Thursday to 6:00am Friday (12 hours).
