A clutch of severe thunderstorms are bearing down on three different parts of the North Island as violent weather starts to intensify.
Much of the North Island is sitting beneath a severe thunderstorm watch today.
MetService warned on Twitter there are “plenty” of storms popping up around the country already and later this afternoon looked set to be even more intense.
This afternoon the forecaster issued severe thunderstorm warnings for a band of electrical storms hitting Waikato near Putaruru, Taranaki east of New Plymouth and the Kapiti Coast.
Thunderstorms have been pounding Hamilton and surrounding districts this morning with the rain so heavy vehicles on the Waikato Expressway were forced to pull over due to a lack of visibility.
The warning stretches from Hamilton to Wellington, and will last until 9pm tonight.
MetService said the unsettled conditions were the result of cool temperatures at upper levels and warm humid conditions near the surface, which were expected to bring convective conditions to much of the North Island.
The bottom half of the North Island is under a heavy rain warning as thunderstorms bear down this afternoon. Photo / John Stone
There is also a heavy rain warning for Hawke’s Bay south of Napier, the Tararua District, and Wairarapa north of Featherston which is in place until 2am on Wednesday.
— MetService Severe Weather Info (@MetServiceWARN) December 19, 2022
MetService forecasts show a moderate chance of severe thunderstorms from Waikato to Taranaki and the Wairarapa - these could cause rainfall rates of up to 45mm per hour, which would increase the risk of flash floods and make driving hazardous.
There is risk of severe thunderstorm bringing heavy rainfall of up to 25 to 45 mm/h this afternoon. This can cause surface, flash flooding about streams, gullies & urban areas, & make driving conditions extremely hazardous.
— Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (@WREMOinfo) December 19, 2022
Wellington Regional Emergency Management is warning people to drive carefully this afternoon, saying the storms could bring “surface, flash flooding about streams, gullies and urban areas, and make driving conditions extremely hazardous”.
The chaotic conditions follow on from a day of torrential rain in Auckland and parts of Whangārei.
MetService forecaster Gerard Bellam said Water St in downtown Whangārei received 28.2mm of rainfall in a short burst around 4pm yesterday.
A woman was in her Woodhill home when all of a sudden rain started pelting the wall 3m away from the windows it was pouring in through.
