Christmas weather: Thunderstorms expected in Bay of Plenty, Taupō, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay

Scattered thunderstorms are expected to bring heavy rain and hail to parts of the central North Island this afternoon.

MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Bay of Plenty, Taupō, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay between 3pm and 9pm on Christmas Day.

Driving conditions will be hazardous, with surface flooding, poor visibility, and heavy rain, MetService warns.

This is likely to affect the Napier-Taupō Rd, and possibly parts of State Highway 2 in Central Hawke’s Bay south of Hastings.

One motorist who made the journey over Napier-Taupō Road yesterday afternoon said a “big grey blanket” was hanging over the area.

“I’ve got a really loud V8 four-wheel drive and you could hear the thunder through it with the music on and everything.

“There was a bit of fork lightning. I saw some forks come right down to the ground just in front of me.”

MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Bay of Plenty, Taupō, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay. Photo / File

He said visibility was poor as it was quite misty on the road too.

MetService said there could be up to 40mm of rain per hour in some places and a low risk of a small tornado.

“Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips.”

The thunderstorms should die away by late evening.