- A new severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Waitomo and Taumarunui.
- Some parts of Auckland are still without power due to Cyclone Tam.
- Vector restored power to 99.97% of affected homes, but some outages remain due to significant damage.
Auckland is back under a severe thunderstorm watch following a weekend of wild weather due to the wrath of Cyclone Tam.
Northland, Waikato, Waitomo and Taumarunui are also in the firing line.
A number of homes are also going into their fourth day without power.
Warnings had initially been lifted today for Auckland but MetService updated its predictions at 7.49am to say a line of thunderstorms producing localised heavy rain is expected to develop over southern Northland and Auckland between midday and 8pm today.
It was then expected to move slowly eastwards across the region.
Some of the thunderstorms may be severe south of Whangarei and across the broader Auckland region, with rainfall rates of 25-50mm/h.
“Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips,” MetService said.
STORY CONTINUES AFTER LIVE BLOG
“Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain.”
The thunderstorms are expected to weaken and move offshore this evening.
A separate warning was in place for Waikato, Waitomo and Taumarunui from 1pm until 10pm.
Localised rainfall rates of 25-50mm/h were expected.
“The thunderstorms activity should die away late evening.”
A thunderstorm watch for the eastern Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne had been lifted as thunderstorm activity in the area is now expected to remain offshore.
“Intense” thunderstorms had already brought severe flooding yesterday.
Dozens of Aucklanders were affected by flooding inside their homes as authorities scrambled to respond to 175 callouts.
The rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning – with up to 750 strikes.
The MetService said Cyclone Tam had bought more than just rain. The weather system had pulled in warm, muggy air that kept temperatures high across the country with some spots breaking April records.
A map showed highs across the country yesterday including 27C in Palmerston North and Masterton.
Power outages
A number of Auckland homes are still without power this morning after “significant damage” was caused during Cyclone Tam.
Some families on Auckland’s North Shore were without power for three nights, with some stuck in their homes with young children.
Beach Haven resident Kerre Woodham told the Herald yesterday that about 50 households on Aeroview Drive and Amelia Place had been without power since Thursday afternoon. It appears to have been restored this morning.
Another resident on the street said the power went out at 11am on Thursday, “way before the lightning.”
Woodham said Vector initially advised her that the power would come back on at 9pm that night, but it was pushed back to 1am. Friday.
Since then, it had been “silence from Vector”.
“Those who can leave have left or are leaving, but there are still households with kids who have been without power since Thursday.”
Woodham said that while she understood the pressure during significant weather events, she was frustrated by Vector’s poor communication.
“Weather events happen, the conflicting messaging and AI responses from Vector have made things incredibly frustrating.”
Woodham noted that her neighbour, who has two children under 3, was still without power last night and facing another night in the dark. “She has two kids under 3 and is at the end of her tether.”
Woodham also said she had thrown out hundreds of dollars’ worth of food, which she could have donated if she had known earlier that the power wouldn’t be restored.
Another resident said the lack of information was adding to their frustration. “It’s incredibly frustrating, and Vector seems to be no help, saying there is no ETA.”
About 20,000 homes lost power in the severe weather event connected to Cyclone Tam, Vector said. However, crews working throughout the night managed to restore electricity to the majority very quickly.
In an update on Saturday afternoon, Vector said 99.97% of households affected had electricity restored.
“Crews are out again today [yesterday] checking for any hidden damage and in some spots, we might need to do emergency shutdowns to finish repairs safely.
“Thanks for bearing with us if that happens in your area,” the company said on Facebook.
This morning, a number of power outages can be seen on Vector’s website.
In a statement on its website, Vector said, “Power has been restored for most customers, but some power outages remain due to significant damage. Last night’s lightning storm has caused further issues. We know how frustrating this is and appreciate your patience as we work hard to get everyone’s power back on.”
The Herald approached Vector to comment on the Beach Haven communities’ outages.
‘Intense’ thunderstorms over the weekend
An “arm of rain” that stretched out from the centre of Cyclone Tam was responsible for the intense downpours and thunderstorms late Friday and early Saturday, said MetService meteorologist Alec Holden.
Auckland residents said the storm hit before any warning was issued, while MetService said thunderstorms are “notoriously difficult to forecast”.
A North Shore resident said it was the most severe storm she had experienced on the Shore by far.
“House shaking, no power, crying and scared 5-year-old and no warning at all.”
Auckland Councillor Richard Hills said parts of Auckland, including the North Shore, received more than a month’s worth of rain in just over an hour in the early hours of Saturday.
“100mm of rain fell in the red parts [of the map], including large parts of the Shore and Central suburbs. Sadly, some homes and streets were flooded again, thinking of those affected,” Hills said.
Auckland was hit with two emergency phone alerts issued by Auckland Emergency Management yesterday.
The thunderstorms were anticipated to bring heavy rain, which could have caused surface and flash flooding in streams, gullies, and urban areas, making driving conditions extremely hazardous.
Hills said Auckland nearly beat the records set in 2022 and the highest hour of rain during the 2023 floods.
This red thunderstorm warning in Auckland was lifted later in the afternoon.
Flights disrupted
Severe weather continued to disrupt Air New Zealand’s network, particularly regional services in and out of Rotorua, Tauranga, and Whangārei, as well as some trans-Tasman and Pacific Island routes.
As of 4.30pm on Saturday, the airline had operated more than 260 of its scheduled 388 flights, with 15 weather-related cancellations and 106 flights still scheduled for the day.
Air New Zealand Chief Operating Officer Alex Marren said the network remained largely operational despite some disruption.
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