Trees fall on to cars as wild weather lashes Bay of Plenty

Wild weather bringing heavy rain and strong winds pummelled the Bay of Plenty overnight. Photo / File

Wild weather wreaked havoc overnight in the Bay of Plenty, including an emergency call out to a tree that had fallen on to a car.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager said the tree came down on State Highway 33 in Paengaroa just after 7pm. The road was cleared by Maketu firefighters using a chainsaw. No one was inside the vehicle at the time.

Powerlines also came down in Ngamotu Rd in Taupō about 6.30pm, but it was believed a car may have hit a power pole. However, no car was located when the fire crew arrived on the scene, she said.

A tree also came down in hit an unoccupied parked car in Rambler Drive, Whakatāne, at 1.30am today.

Mount Maunganui Fire Brigade was also called to a car fire in Ranch Rd, Mount Maunganui at just after 2am.

MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said wind gusts of just under 60km/h were recorded in Tauranga Airport about midnight. At Rotorua Airport, MetService recorded gusts of just over 80km/h.

McInnes said two hours later, after a second front crossed the central North Island, wind gusts of just under 65km/h were recorded at Whakatāne Airport.

In the 12 hours to 7am today, 27mm of rain fell in the Rotorua inland area towards the east, 7mm in Whakatāne and 5.2mm in Tauranga

In the Bay of Plenty's Kaimai Range and eastern ranges about 40 to 50mm of rain fell.

McInnes said there was a chance of local wind gusts later today but nowhere near as strong as overnight.