Auckland lightning strikes and severe thunderstorms, Digi Mart USA News (Auckland, New Zealand): Lightning strikes caused three fires in Auckland on Friday afternoon as violent thunderstorms moved across the region. A red alert covering Kaipara, Auckland City, Waitākere, Franklin, Rodney and Albany was issued at about 3pm and lifted just after 4pm.
On Friday night, MetService issued severe thunderstorm watches for large parts of the North Island, warning of localized downpours and possible flash flooding. The watch for northern areas, including Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, was in place from midnight until midday Saturday.
A separate watch covers southern areas, including Wellington, Wairarapa and Manawatū, until Saturday evening.
MetService said rainfall rates could reach 40 millimetres an hour, increasing the risk of surface flooding, slips and hazardous driving conditions. The agency said 1,170 lightning strikes were detected on Friday before 5:30pm, including 280 over Auckland.
Fire and Emergency shift manager Colin Underdown said fire crews responded to about 30 jobs, including lightning-related blazes in Westhaven, Westmere and Albany. Voting booths at the PAK’nSAVE Māngere supermarket carpark and at Old Flat Bush School Hall in Takanini closed early because of the weather.
A small number of properties were affected by surface flooding. Lines company Vector reported a handful of power outages, mainly in the north and west of the region.
Delays and cancellations on the east-west and Onehunga-west rail lines followed a storm-related power outage between Sunnyvale and Mangawhau, which was likely to cause further travel disruption. The barrier arms at Rossgrove Terrace level crossing were down after a power cut caused a signaling fault.
An Auckland Airport spokesperson said a lightning alert was in place for around 20 minutes that afternoon, which meant a small number of aircraft were unable to refuel, in line with standard safety procedures. There were no resulting impacts to flight schedules, the spokesperson said.
MetService has since cancelled the severe weather warning for the Auckland region, though a thunderstorm watch remains in place until 11am Saturday.
A band of heavy rain passing over the top of the Far North has so far caused no significant flooding, according to Kaitāia fire chief Craig Rogers. He said farmers and homeowners relying on rainwater tanks would be delighted with the downpour after an unusually dry spring so far.
“We’ve had a good bit of warm rain, with thunder mixed in. It’s not enough but the farmers will be happy.”
Rogers said the rain peaked around 1pm and had eased to showers. Around 2pm, MetService radar showed the band of heavy rain moving south over Northland, with particularly intense falls over Doubtless Bay, inland from the Bay of Islands and over the Kaipara Harbour.
Northland Regional Council rainfall data shows the heaviest rain so far, 30mm per hour, was recorded near Pawarenga in North Hokianga in the hour to 1pm. Further south, Hakaru, near Kaiwaka, and the Pouto Peninsula, both in the Kaipara District, were also experiencing heavy rain.
Regional council records show the last significant rain in the Kaitāia area fell in mid-September.
