Northland weather: Severe thunderstorms hit, more rain forecast

Forecasters say the worst of today’s wet weather is not yet over in some parts of Northland.

MetService meteorologist Katie Hillyer said people should heed a severe thunderstorm watch in place until 11am.

Kerikeri received 43mm of rain in one hour around 7am today.

Hillyer said anything above 20mm was considered a downpour.

Conditions of that magnitude could increase the risk of flash flooding, high river levels and slips.

The rain band was tracking well across Northland, but places east of Kerikeri could still expect downpours.

Wind gusts reached up to 118km/h in exposed areas such as Tutukākā Harbour and 109km/h at Cape Rēinga.

Meanwhile, in Whangārei, gusts peaked at 68km/h early this morning.

Hillyer said the weather was expected to ease throughout the day, but showers could continue into the evening.

About 8am, Fire and Emergency crews from Rāwhiti were called out after reports that a tree had landed on a car.

The driver was able to get out of the vehicle without injury.

As of this morning, no unplanned outages were affecting Northpower customers in the Whangārei and Kaipara areas.

In the Far North, Top Energy was responding to a line fault that took out power for 22 customers near Ahipara, and a further 24 were without power at Te Kao.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.