Thunderstorms, hail, rain hammer South Taranaki

Friday, 14 December 2018

South Taranaki has been hit with rain, hail, lightning and thunder.

South Taranaki has been hammered by rain, hail and thunderstorms, while North Taranaki basks in sunshine.

Mike Fairweather said Hāwera firefighters were attending flooding at a residential address in the town following the localised downpours.

The storm has only affected those south of the mountain, with New Plymouth basking in sunshine, light winds and 22 degrees celsius.

Diane Gregor who lives on Glasgow St suffered some damage from the hail after it put holes in plastic roofing covering her dog kennels.

'The dogs were going nuts, just the sheer force of it, I didn't expect it to be such a volume it was quite frightening,' she said.

'It's the worst I've experienced in my life here in Hāwera.'

Heavy rain has caused flooding in drains in South Taranaki and in one home in Hāwera.

Numerous videos and photos of the storm have been posted to social media.

The South Taranaki District Council posted to its page saying: 'Hi everyone, we've had some pretty intensive thunder/lightning/rain/hail around the district so please take extra care on the roads. We've had reports of flash flooding on Eltham Rd, Te Kiri by Patiki Rd. Take care out there!'

One photo of hail posted to the STDC page showed hailstones bigger than a $1 coin.

Huge hail stones pelted Hāwera on Friday afternoon.

A thunderstorm watch is in place for Taranaki and MetService said the thunderstorms developed over the northern and central North Island this afternoon, and further thunderstorms were expected until evening.

MetService said Between about 2pm and 9pm today, a few of the thunderstorms could be severe about northern and central North Island areas from Northland to Whanganui, Taihape and Hawkes Bay (including Auckland), especially inland.

Meanwhile New Plymouth is enjoying a sunny day.

These thunderstorms are expected to produce localised downpours of 25-40 mm/hr (or more), hail of 20mm diameter (or larger), and maybe wind gusts of 60-80kmh

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, MetService said.

Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain, it said.

Large hail can cause significant damage to crops, orchards, vines, glasshouses and vehicles, as well as make driving conditions hazardous.