Three people were trapped in their home after a tree fell onto the property during a short sharp weather bomb in Auckland this morning.
There have also been reports of mini tornadoes across the region and power is out to about 1500 homes.
Earlier today, three people were rescued from a home in Penrose after a 25m tree trapped them in their bedrooms.
Image 1 of 9: Tornado through avondale at 1045am. Neighbour shed lifted and landed on house. Photo / Marie Person
Bob Morrison, senior station manager at Mt Wellington fire station, said they were called to the scene about 11.15am.
"A tree had fallen and caused quite substantial damage to the building," he said.
"We were able to extricate three persons via windows and make the scene as safe as we can."
Morrison said one woman suffered minor injuries from the debris falling on her back.
She was treated by St John on the scene.
It is understood a tornado, described as small and weak, hit Pt Chevalier before blowing across the North Western Motorway about 10.45am.
A Manurewa resident said a mini tornado hit their front yard about 11.10am.
"My partner watched it outside and my nephew and I pretty much freaked out and held onto each other," said the resident.
"It was loud and it sounded like the windows were going to smash from all of the plants and stuff hitting the windows."
Deane Vipond described watching a tornado almost touch down near his home in the Auckland suburb of Pt Chevalier just before 11am.
He was looking out his west-facing window in Berridge Ave when he spotted a tornado forming about 100 metres away.
"There was one helluva lot of wind and you could clearly see the funnel coming down out of the sky. I thought 'oh my god, we are going to get smashed here' ... I've never seen one that close before. The trees were bent one way on one side of the house and the other way on the other side."
He called for his 15-year-old daughter, Beau, but in the 10 seconds it took her to reach him the tornado had disappeared back up into the sky. He estimated it was about 15 metres wide at its base.
The tornado, which caused no damage to his property, came after a "horrendous" burst of rain, Vipond said.
About 1500 homes and businesses are without power after an outage at Hillcrest, on Auckland's North Shore .
Crews from Vector attended the scene at about 10.30am and were working to restore services.
"A feeder went at Hillcrest affecting about 15000 customers," Vector spokeswoman Sandy Hodge said.
"We are working to restore this and it is believed a power line was affected by a combination of heavy rain and wind."
In anticipation of problems today, Vector had rostered on extra crews, she added.
"We have experienced a few other weather-related outages elsewhere today but fortunately nothing too major."
Weather Watch said roads across the region had also been affected by debris and surface water in this morning's stormy weather.
Head weather analyst Philip Duncan said the front was now clearing the city.
"It arrived on time and is clearing a little ahead of schedule. Now we're seeing the worst of the weather crossing the Hauraki Gulf and into Great Barrier Island and Coromandel Peninsula."
While pockets of damage were being reported right across Auckland, Duncan said it was important to note that most properties had come through unscathed.
Yesterday, Weather Watch predicted there would be a risk of a small tornado or localised wind damage as the active front passed through.
As of today, no tornadoes had been confirmed, however there were reports of winds swirling in all directions and "rain that was going upwards", Duncan said.
He said at their peak, wind gusts were estimated to have reached between 110 to 130 km/h.
In Auckland, drizzly showers and increasing dry spells were expected throughout the afternoon, before showers and blustery winds once again arrived later today and this evening.
Duncan said there were three phases to the weekend weather.
"First this narrow but very active front which is crossing northern New Zealand from west to east.
"The second feature will be more wind, rain and showers from the Tasman Sea as the low moves across the North Island and central New Zealand tonight.
"The third feature is already affecting Southland, in the form of an Antarctic southerly which spreads north tonight and on Sunday, clearing skies for many regions as the day goes on."
Weather Watch advised Kiwis to monitor rain radars and keep an eye on latest forecasts, warnings and weather news in their area.
Civil Defence has warned of a severe weather event for Auckland about 11am.
It advises people not to travel, but to drive to the conditions if travel is essential.
During the storm, people are advised to:
- Stay up to date with weather forecasts.
- Report flooding to council.
- Ensure a torch, radio and spare batteries are to hand.