New Zealand severe thunderstorm warning, Digi Mart USA News (Auckland, New Zealand): A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for the Rodney and Albany area this afternoon. MetService weather radar detected severe thunderstorms near Warkworth, Wellsford, Kaipara Flats and Ahuroa.
These severe thunderstorms are moving towards the southeast and are expected to affect Warkworth, Orewa, Puhoi, Matakana and Whangaparaoa over the next few hours. The storms are expected to bring torrential rain and large hail.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in force for Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Much of Auckland was drenched in heavy rain and hail late in the afternoon. In Auckland’s Grey Lynn, between Elgin and Northland streets, a billboard came down in strong winds.
It knocked over fencing and was lying across the footpath and cycle lane and onto the road.
In Blenheim, part of the roof outside a Cotton On store collapsed because of rain buildup. No one was injured, and the shop has reopened to customers.
MetService meteorologist Devlin Linden said the severe weather had struck the North Island and parts of the South Island. “Quite a lot of activity along much of the western North Island, right the way from Auckland down to Taranaki and that western flank, but there is also a good amount of activity in other places around the country,” he said.
Linden said the storms are convective and are driven by heat throughout the day. He said they were likely to continue until early evening, when conditions were expected to cool.
Overnight on Friday, MetService recorded nearly 2,000 lightning strikes across the top of the North Island, along with heavy rainfall. Downpours reached 33.5mm an hour in the Bay of Plenty.
About 1,845 lightning strikes were recorded from midnight.
The MetService weather map for Election Day shows weather warnings across the North Island and upper South Island. Fire and Emergency New Zealand responded to five weather-related callouts overnight, including flooding and reports of fallen trees.
MetService warned of a moderate risk that thunderstorms may become severe across a broad area of the country, from Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula in the north to inland parts of the South Island north of Tekapo. The watch is already in place for northern areas and takes effect from 1 p.m.
in the south. It also includes the Bay of Plenty, the central high country to Taranaki, Whanganui southward to northern and eastern parts of Wellington, and the Tararua District and Wairarapa.
MetService is scheduled to update the watch at 6 p.m. Severe thunderstorms would produce localized downpours of 25 to 40mm an hour, it said.
Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and flash flooding, especially in low-lying areas, streams, rivers and narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips. Driving conditions would also be hazardous, with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain, it said.
