Aorangi Road resident Cormac Bryce was at home when the tornado struck.
Video / Mark Mitchell
Thunderstorms are at the door of the entire country again, including the Chatham Islands, and there is an ongoing risk of tornadoes.
This morning is expected to see an increase to a moderate thunderstorm danger for Northland, Auckland and Waikato, with rain intensities of 10 to 25 mm/h, MetService forecasts.
The majority of the North Island and the northwest of the South Island are at lower risk levels.
It’s not often we see thunderstorms at the door of the North, South and Chatham Island all at once⚡
Thunderstorms with locally heavy rain of 10 to 25 mm/h are possible from Northland to Taranaki, including Auckland, and in the Bay of Plenty.
“These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by very heavy rain, damaging wind gusts, possible tornadoes and frequent lightning,” MetService reports.
A firefighter working to secure the roof of a house, damaged by the tornado, on Arundel Ave, Paraparaumu. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“Very heavy rain can cause surface and/or flash flooding about streams, gullies and urban areas, and make driving conditions extremely hazardous. Very strong wind gusts can break branches from trees, damage roofing, and make driving hazardous, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
“Tornadic winds” will also make driving hazardous, as they may cause some structural damage, notably to trees and electrical lines, but any tornadoes would only affect very localised areas, MetService said.
Yesterday morning, a tornado sent a sleepout containing a teenager airborne, crushing the building and impaling the teen.
Rhiley Stevens, 16, required surgery to remove a piece of his bedroom that lodged in his chest.
His mother Jade spoke to the Herald from Wellington Hospital and said the sleepout was lifted by the high winds, and then dumped back down and destroyed.
“He’s lucky to be alive – the whole bedroom is just completely destroyed.”
New Zealand has been hit by four tornadoes in three consecutive days, with no other reported injuries but property also damaged in east Auckland, the Nelson region and Taranaki.
Why so stormy? 🤔
😵💫 Lobes of vorticity (🟢), or spin, have frequently pivoted around an upper atmosphere disturbance that's "stuck in the mud" over the Tasman Sea.
This has caused moist, humid & rising air, conducive to thunderstorms ⚡️
Additionally, nearly 9000 lightning strikes were detected over New Zealand over 24 hours yesterday afternoon as a cluster of thunderstorms moved south.
A third of those strikes were recorded in the Nelson region, with another 1000 recorded over the Bay of Plenty, MetService said.
Debris on Aorangi Rd, Paraparaumu after a tornado ripped through the area. Photo / Supplied
Niwa principal scientist Chris Brandolino told The AM Show that thunderstorms will continue throughout the week.
“They’ll be gradually easing but still with us,” he said.
Brandolino said there is a chance that the bad weather will clear on the weekend but next week’s forecast looks to be rainy again.
“There could be another heavy rain producer.”
He said the number of tornadoes that have hit the country is unusual but not unheard of, with the country getting seven to 10 moderate to strong tornadoes a year.
