'Tornado' hits Otago as winds and heavy downpours lash parts of New Zealand

Tuesday, 3 December 2019

What appears to be a tornado swirled across Central Otago's Lake Dunstan on Tuesday.

As high winds disrupted flights and caused ferries to be delayed around parts of the country, a 'tornado' whipped up on an Otago lake flattened trees and left motorists scurrying for cover.

On Tuesday, a swirling gust of wind appeared over the Lowburn inlet off Lake Dunstan near Cromwell shortly after 3pm, whipping up whitecaps as it skittered across the water before crashing into a grove of trees.

Witness Kyle Clark said the funnel rose to around 60 metres and lasted for about 45 seconds, and felled around 20 trees on the edge of the lake.

MetService forecaster Aidan Pyselman said it was hard to confirm that it had been a tornado, suggesting it may have instead been a very strong gust.

A swirling gust of wind appeared over the Lowburn inlet off Lake Dunstan near Cromwell shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.

* Heavy rain, gale-force winds and possible thunder moving down from the north**

Damage to trees in Central Otago on Tuesday after a tornado-like wind passed over Lake Dunstan, near Cromwell.

The weather has put a halt to the start of summer, with the lower North Island and parts of the South Island among those most in the firing line.

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Mass cancellations caused havoc with flight schedules in and out of Wellington Airport prompting a request for passengers to defer non-urgent travel from Air New Zealand.

On Tuesday, the departures and arrivals board was awash with cancellations, leaving much of the capital's usually-bustling airport uncharacteristically quiet.

A Wellington Airport spokeswoman said by about 6pm, airlines were operating as normal again.

A car in Hataitai has been crushed by a tree which has fallen as high winds lash Wellington on Tuesday.

'There may be some disruptions to flights ongoing as a result of the weather. There will be catch-ups from the delays earlier.'

Scenes of the storm battering Wellington.

The airport was not expecting massive delays on Wednesday, she said.

Among those caught up in the flight mayhem was the Wellington under-19 cricket team who had their original flight to Christchurch cancelled.

The weather also forced Metlink to restrict or cancel some of its Wellington ferry crossings. While Interislander ferries were still operating, high winds were causing delays in berthing in Picton.

Trees were also down in Island Bay, Strathmore, Thorndon, Hataitai and Makara.

A ute on Airport Road near Hamilton was struck by falling tree branches as rain lashed the city on Tuesday afternoon.

In December 2019 Wellington flights were cancelled and ferry services restricted when strong winds hit the region.

Witnesses have also reported seeing the city's wind wand had blown down beyond 90 degrees at times.

Wind gusts had so far reached 105kmh at Wellington Airport and 137kmh at the top of Mt Kaukau.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said Wednesday's forecast winds could reach 90 kmph gusts.

'[Wednesday] does look like another windy one for Wellington, with the northerly wind picking up in the afternoon,' Ferris said.

Wellington and the rest of the North Island would not be as wet on Wednesday, but in the South Island more rain was expected for the West Coast, with possible thunderstorms and gusts to around 100 kmph.

'Strong northwesterly winds are also forecast to affect the Canterbury High Country with a Wind Watch currently in place.'

Nelson and the Canterbury high country also have warnings are in place for strong winds.

A tree has fallen on top of a parked car in Hataitai as strong winds buffet Wellington on Tuesday.

Roads in Golden Bay have been hit by flooding and trees have been toppled in the Tasman district.

A front moving up the South Island would bring some rain and stronger winds, gusting up to 140kmh in exposed places.

The same front was forecast to cause extreme weather events all around the country - but different regions would be affected in different ways.

MetService said it expected thunderstorms on the West Coast on Tuesday and Wednesday, along with hail and 100kmh gusts.

NZTA also warned commuters travelling over the Remutaka Hill to take care as gusts were expected to batter the road.

Several Air New Zealand flights in and out of Wellington have been cancelled due to high winds. (File photo)

State Highway 6 at Inangahua Junction - where the Buller River was high and flooding covered the highways - was expected to remain closed until 5pm Tuesday. Fox Glacier to Haast in South Westland was also closed for a time because of fallen trees and slips but was reopened shortly after 3pm.

For Inangahua Junction, a detour along Brown Creek Rd was available but motorists were asked to delay their journeys if possible. No detour was available for the road to Haast.

Emergency services in Waikato helped three people from their cars near Hamilton and in Tokoroa after falling trees trapped them.

On Wednesday rain rates could pick up from Hokitika to northern Fiordland.

'This is expected to be a sustained period of rain this week, waxing and waning as various features come through,' MetService severe weather forecaster William Nepe said.

Parts of the western South Island 'could be looking at a lot of rain over a long period'.