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Video / NZ Herald
A freak hailstorm caught Aucklanders by surprise last night as temperatures dropped after a day of blue skies and warmer winter weather.
MetService says similar conditions today mean more sudden hail could be on the way.
Heavy hail began falling over North Shore suburbs about 9.45pm on Saturday night.
Itcontinued to fall through parts of the central city as clouds moved south over the Auckland isthmus before reverting to rainfall.
Footage shared to social media showed the hail as it poured over Albert St, with a couple protecting their heads using their rain jackets as they ran for shelter from the elements.
MetService meteorologist Silvia Martino said cold air aloft had mixed with a narrow line of heavy rain clouds moving over parts of Auckland, “providing prime conditions for hail to form”.
“Because that line was oriented from north to south, and also moving from north to south, people directly underneath it got quite the dumping of hail, while people either side had a dry evening.”
Over 1800 lightning strikes have been detected over the upper North Island in the last 12 hours, MetService wrote on Facebook.
“We could still see hail and thunderstorms for areas from Rotorua northwards today.”
One Northcote resident told the Herald that 30 minutes after the storm had passed, hail dumped on the street still had not melted.
Hail blanketed the streets in Glenfield last night.
A song thrush began singing in the late-night hour, they added.
“I have never seen hail this thick in Auckland, or heard a bird sing at this time, and I have lived in Auckland all my life.”
Although showers were expected to hit Auckland at random last night, the hail came as a surprise.
“MetService doesn’t currently issue warnings for hail,” Martino said.
Cold air mixed with rain clouds over Auckland last night, creating the perfect conditions for hail.
“When severe thunderstorms are detected on the radar, we issue a Red Severe Thunderstorm Warning, which might include references to hail, but hail can also occur in showers without thunderstorms, as it did in this case.”
Several people took to Facebook to share footage of the aftermath on their properties this morning.
“You know it’s cold in Auckland if the hail from last night still hasn’t melted by 9am,” another wrote.
With rain forecast in Auckland later today, Martino said cold air aloft may bring further thunderstorms and sudden hail showers.
“There aren’t any showers over Auckland at the moment, but once showers start popping up there is the chance that some could have thunder and hail associated with them,” she said.
“It’s a good day to keep an eye on the rain radar to see where the action is.”
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