Massive hailstorm pelts cars in Whangārei Heads. Video / Supplied
Thunderstorms continue to pose risks to parts of New Zealand today, particularly around Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty.
MetService said thunderstorms could be accompanied by rain as heavy as 25mm/h and hail up to 15mm in diameter.
Flooding closed a stretch of State Highway 35 south of TolagaBay overnight.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said one lane has reopened and the road is expected to be fully reopened by mid-morning. It’s asking motorists to drive carefully however, with flooding, slips and debris possible on roads throughout the region.
Road crews are also monitoring a build-up of woody debris around Gladstone Rd bridge on SH35 in Gisborne.
The North Island has experienced widespread thunderstorms since the start of the New Year. Multiple severe thunderstorm warnings were in place across the upper North Island yesterday, with hail and lightning strikes causing havoc in Auckland.
One lightning strike sent a tree crashing through the roof of a Hillcrest home, with a neighbour telling the Herald they were wearing headphones at the time but heard “the loudest bang” in their life.
More rain is expected for parts of the North Island today. Photo / Paul Rickard
The neighbour described the storm as “sudden and violent” and he was shocked by the power of the lightning.
“The lightning also was quite unexpected, at least, obviously, the location and the intensity of it,” he told the Herald.
On Friday, a home in Mangawhai was struck by lightning, which blew a fuse board and caused a fire, while a Grey Lynn villa’s roof burst into flames after suffering a similar strike.
Elsewhere, large hailstones fell in Albany with one resident saying they could see the storm coming across Schnapper Rock from Greenhithe.
The rest of the North Island should see a mainly fine and cloudy day today, with some isolated showers possible.
Hail fell across parts of the North Island yesterday, including in Auckland's North Shore. Photo / Supplied
There is a low risk of thunderstorms for parts of inland Waikato in the North Island and areas of Canterbury and Otago in the South Island.
Moving into Monday, MetService has predicted a mainly fine day for the North Island, with scattered showers from Northland to Coromandel Peninsula.
The South Island has similar weather forecast, with a few showers in the west and isolated showers inland later in the day.
