Young children enjoy a surprise hail storm tonight in South Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Young children enjoy a surprise hail storm tonight in South Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Auckland and Coromandel have been pounded by more than 200 lightning strikes tonight as a fierce storm hit the region.
The strikes were recorded between 5pm and 7pm as a thunderstorm tracked east across South Auckland before passing over the Coromandel Peninsula. It brought heavy rain and hail.
MetService forecaster Amy Rossiter said the thunderstorm had now moved out to sea, leaving behind isolated showers. Aucklanders should wake up to fine weather, she said.
A lightning tracker showing thunderstorms south of Auckland just before 6pm. Image / WeatherWatch
Video of the storm shows hail and rain pounding Jasmine Harris' backyard in Manurewa just before 6pm. Photos show the hail piling up on a deck and two young children enjoying the wintry surprise.
Harris told the Herald: "Lots of thunder and lightning, little bit of rain, briefly very windy and a lot of hail!"
Aucklanders were earlier warned to brace for a downpour from around 5pm, with more than 100 lightning strikes hitting the Tasman Sea this afternoon.
Hail piles up on a woman's deck in Manurewa tonight. Photo / Supplied
Duncan forecast a "burst of downpours" moving in from the west, set to hit the North Island just south of Auckland Airport from about 4.45pm to 6pm. Isolated thunderstorms were forecast with the Pukekohe area most exposed.
A thunderstorm with very heavy rainfall, substantial lightning, and gusty winds is about to move through southern Auckland and northern Waikato (including Waiuku, Pukekohe, Pokeno, and State Highway 1).
And Taranaki, struck by a tornado this afternoon, was also in the firing line - the MetService warned about 4.30pm a thunderstorm was about to "barrel headfirst into south Taranaki".
There are a few Thunderstorms moving into Western areas - one is about to barrel headfirst into south #Taranaki in the next half hour. ^AH pic.twitter.com/lbQiBHfTWq
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said a rain band crossing the country today would clear by tonight - but temporarily.
"It's quite wet and stormy up in Auckland, there's some thunderstorm risk associated with that as it crosses over," Ferris said.
"That rain band clears the country tonight, but hangs around in western Fiordland area.
"We have the next feature that comes on tomorrow, which affects western areas of the South Island through the morning, but then moves up the country and crosses over."
The coming week across the country would be similar to this week.
A disturbed westerly flow over the country meant temperatures were "a little bit warmer than they typically are this time of the year".
"It's going to be on again, off again rain across the country through until Wednesday," Ferris said.
"Eastern areas of the South Island will be a bit dryer as they have been for the last week.
"Then moving into next week, we have a similar system that crosses on Monday and Tuesday, which is going to be quite similar. But we'll have more details as we get closer to that."
There may be thunderstorms in western parts of the country this evening. Image / MetService
Ferris said tomorrow would be the best bet for a bit of drier weather.
"They'll be showers in western areas, the eastern area will have a bit of a respite, and then it's not until Sunday that the next feature crosses over," Ferris said.
"Saturday is the best bet for the North Island. It's quite similar for the South Island in eastern areas. Saturday looks pretty good. Monday again is looking relatively dry for the North Island."
