Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Swimmers urged to get out of water as lightning lashes central North Island

By Belinda Feek
Reporter·NZ Herald·
17 Dec, 2017 11:08 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Niwa is urging beachgoers to get out of the water as cloud-to-ground lightning strikes pepper the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Nearly 80 strikes have been recorded in eastern Waikato and Bay of Plenty, however the thunderstorm was making its way north up the Coromandel coast about 1.45pm today.

Big increase in cloud-to-ground lightning strikes just west of Waihi pic.twitter.com/KD38YvS3rp

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) December 18, 2017

Initially there were only 10 strikes recorded between Waihi Beach and Tauranga before the storm spread east into Waikato.

Seventy-seven strikes were recorded around Te Aroha, Paeroa, Ngatea and Waihi.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

However, by 2.15pm today, the MetService was reporting more than 800 lightning strikes over a two-hour period.

Lots of instability over the upper North Island (image at 14:15 local time) both with and ahead of the cold front this afternoon. Around 800 lightning strikes were reported in 2hrs. MetService have a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in force. For the details https://t.co/GZIq9Jlbrw ^AB pic.twitter.com/bOsIV6TjJy

— MetService (@MetService) December 18, 2017

The storm moved north a slight distance before veering east out to Whangamata.

Niwa urged people to stay out of the water and off beaches when there is lightning nearby.

Cloud-to-ground lightning flaring up over/west of Whangamata pic.twitter.com/Qgg3vFeAGS

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) December 18, 2017

Some cloud-to-ground lightning from near Waihi Beach to Tauranga. Be sure to say off the water/beach when lightning is nearby! pic.twitter.com/397JZnt7ak

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) December 17, 2017

Discover more

New Zealand

Flooding, thunderstorms and lightning hit North Island

18 Dec 06:49 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

05 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM

Lotto First Division Powerball was not struck and has jackpotted to $10m on Wednesday.

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

05 Jul 06:00 PM
'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP