Weather: Aucklanders warned to ‘brace’ themselves; more thunderstorms on the way, more tornadoes possible

Nearly 9000 lightning strikes have been detected over New Zealand in the past 24 hours as a cluster of thunderstorms moves south.

A third of those strikes were recorded in the Nelson region, with another 1000 recorded over the Bay of Plenty, MetService said.

Forecasters have warned that a line of thunderstorms and an ongoing threat of tornadoes are in store for the North Island today.

MetService is warning Aucklanders to “brace” themselves for a wet, windy, and thundery spell later today.

“There’s a risk of severe storms with downpours this afternoon and evening so take care and get prepared this morning, and keep an eye on the radar this afternoon.”

Severe thunderstorm watches are in place for Buller and Westland from 6am to 6pm, for Northland from 11am-6pm and for Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupo, Taranaki from 2pm to 8pm.

The unsettled weather is expected to continue for the next couple of days due to the “unstable airmass over Aotearoa”.

MetService said damaging wind gusts and tornadoes in these areas are possible.

“Tornadic wind gusts can cause some structural damage, including trees and power lines, and may make driving hazardous. If any tornadoes occur, they will only affect very localised areas.

“Should severe weather approach or if you feel threatened, take shelter immediately.”

“The weather is likely to go downhill very soon over the upper North Island,” NIWA said in a tweet at 1.18pm.

“Some thunderstorms will be intense.”

There’s a bright spot on the horizon, however. The weather is set to improve towards the end of the week, as a ridge starts to build southeast of the country.

Four tornadoes

The warnings come as the Kāpiti Coast was hit by a tornado this morning, with homes damaged and a teenager who had been sleeping in a sleepout injured.

It’s the fourth tornado in three days around the country, followed by a tornado in Auckland on Sunday, one in the Tasman region yesterday and one early this morning in Waitara in the Taranaki.

Today’s twister hit Paraparaumu about 5.30am.

Niwa said today was expected to be another very active day of thunderstorms with some thought to be very intense.

Our high-res model shows spinning air around potentially severe thunderstorms (🔴) today.

This signals that thunderstorms may rotate & produce damaging wind gusts, including tornadoes 🌪️.

Note that while the threat is widespread, exact locations of impacts are uncertain. https://t.co/75bMhRJ08Z pic.twitter.com/Y9nlXdUuCz

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) April 10, 2023

Buller is also under a heavy rain watch until midnight and a strong wind watch until 3pm.

There is an orange heavy rain warning in place for Westland about and north of Mt Cook until midnight.

Niwa principal scientist Chris Brandolino told AM 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 only briefly with next week’s forecast looking 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 seeing about 7-10 moderate to strong tornadoes a year.