Twister's lash wakes Huntly

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

Phyllis Cartmill was making a cup of tea when she saw a bright flash of light and heard several loud bangs on her roof.

Thinking her chimney had been hit by lightning in the thunder storm that was battering Huntly, she went into the lounge to investigate.

"But, low and behold," said her son, Barry, "what she found was a gaping hole in the ceiling."

Mrs Cartmill's roof had succumbed to a mini-tornado which swept through the town at 7.30 am yesterday.

"Most of the front half of the roof had been ripped away and all the iron and whatnot was strewn around the garden and over the road," Mr Cartmill said.

"Hell of a mess, really."

Two people who were passing Mrs Cartmill's house on their way to work called in to check if she was all right and phoned the Fire Service.

"She's just a bit shook up," Mr Cartmill said of his elderly mother.

Directly across the river from Mrs Cartmill's house, the Taniwharau rugby league club also lost part of its roof.

By mid-morning, a tarpaulin had covered most of the damage and one woman at the clubrooms said she was expecting the roof to be repaired by last night.

Although she did not see the tornado, she pointed out its path.

"See that barn up there on the hill? Well, that was a large barn. Now it's a quarter of a barn."

Powerlines had been replaced and debris shifted from roads by yesterday afternoon. WEL Energy said the storm cut power to 1270 Huntly customers.

MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt says the mini-tornadoes are caused by up- and down-drafts within the storm clouds, some which can reach 100 knots.

The weather pattern that brought the thunder, lightning and mini-tornadoes from the Tasman Sea was expected to peak at 3 am today, he said.