Thunderstorm drenches Waipawa

Black clouds over Hatuma south of Waipukurau as the thunderstorm travelled south. Photo / Kiri Kirk

Waipawa took a drenching this afternoon as a brief downpour brought flash flooding - along with an impressive thunderstorm - to the town.

Council contractors cleared drains to rapidly drain surface flooding on Waipawa's roads.

Parents doing school pickup and motorists travelling through had to negotiate flooded roads, while traffic on SH2 was down to 60kmh south of the town due to poor visibility and surface flooding.

A railway crossing on Tamumu Road was quickly flooded.

The downpour wasn't a complete surprise, as MetService had earlier issued a thunderstorm warning, but the volume of rain briefly overwhelmed drains and gutters as council contractors took to the roads to clear any blockages.

Waipawa residents took to Facebook to share pictures and video, with those in Waipukurau and further south expressing surprise, as those areas had only received rain or a shower.