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A brief hail storm that covered the ground in Whangarei seemed to come out of nowhere, said a long-time resident.
Siaan Rodger had put clothes out to dry in the late morning sun before the storm struck.
"You never would have known it was coming," Mrs Rodger said.
She said her kids loved the hail, and hadn't seen anything like it before.
"It was almost like snow."
The hail fell for about 10 minutes and settled where it fell, she said, before it melted as the weather system cleared off and the sun came out.
"Typical Northland weather, really mixed," Mrs Rodger said.
Kiri-Maree Rodger, 7, said it was icy cold and tasted good.
The offenders took off in a stolen vehicle with cigarettes, cash and other items.