Cows left bleeding from force of Levin tornado hail

Hail from last week's tornado left a herd of cows bleeding, and ruined feed set aside for winter on an Ōhau farm.

Farm staff watched on helpless as a herd of 400 cows jostled to escape the pain of golf ball-sized hail stones hitting their hides so hard it drew blood.

Farmer Nathan Murray said it was traumatic for animals and staff alike. It happened so quickly all you could do was watch.

Ōhau farmer Nathan Murray holds a pair of giant hail stones in his hand. Photo / Supplied

"It was traumatic for the animals but it was also traumatic for us, to see them suffering to that degree," he said.

The wind and hail were so strong they smashed windows and the 253-hectare farm was littered with dead birds. Old timber gates were stripped of decades of moss growth.

Hail stripped moss from farm gates. Photo / Supplied

"Everything was absolutely hammered," Murray said.

All vehicles suffered damage, the hail leaving dimples on roofs and car bonnets. Any perspex roofing on sheds was cut to shreds, and farm trees were stripped of their foliage.

Winter crops like turnips and brassica were decimated and the hail cut down any grass paddocks of decent length, leaving him without winter feed, and without much grass in front of him.

"It's going to be tough. This time of year there's very little growth," Murray said.

Huge hail dented car bonnets. Photo / Supplied

The hail storm hit Ōhau shortly after a tornado struck Levin about 8km further north last Friday morning. The worst of the hail ruined neighbouring vegetable crops too.

The neighbouring farm was unaffected by the hail storm.

The tornado itself arrived at about 6.15am and struck the Levin township further north, ripping roofs from houses, felling trees, closing roads and schools and cutting power.