Large parts of the country are under severe thunderstorm warnings.
MetService has issued red warnings for South Waikato, Matamata Piako, Waipa, Taupō, Ōtorohanga and Rotorua this afternoon.
The thunderstorms were expected to move southeast.
A warning for Horowhenua, Carterton, Tararua, Kāpiti Coast, Masterton and South Wairarapa went out at 5pm, with serve thunderstorms near Levin, Foxton, and Shannon.
There was also a red warning for Timaru, Mackenzie and Ashburton with a red severe thunderstorm warning for the Four Peaks Range.
Canterbury Plains, Canterbury High Country, North Otago and Central Otago all had a serve thunderstorm watch.
At 4.45pm severe thunderstorms were detected near Woodbury, Geraldine, Carew, Peel Forest, Ealing and Arundel.
“These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by torrential rain, large hail and possible tornadoes,” MetService said.
There was an orange rain warning issued for the Bay of Plenty until 11pm tonight.
The rain could cause surface and/or flash flooding making driving dangerous around streams, gullies and urban areas.
“Large hail can cause significant damage to crops, orchards, vines, glasshouses and vehicles, and make driving conditions hazardous.
“Tornadoes can blow out windows, lift roofs, break large branches off trees, generate dangerous flying debris and blow vehicles off the road,” said MetService.
Power outage in Hawke’s Bay, Tairāwhiti
A lightning strike in Hawke’s Bay struck equipment, causing a power outage for Hawke’s Bay and the Tairāwhiti regions.
A grid emergency report filed by Transpower stated: “Tripping of the Tauhara Wairakei and Wairakei Whirinaki circuits due to a lightning strike caused the loss of supply to the Hawke’s Bay and associated generation.
“A grid emergency was declared for load management and grid reconfiguration for restoration to the Hawke’s Bay.”
The report noted the emergency lasted from 2.49pm until it was resolved at 5.20pm.
Transpower said lightning strikes were a regular hazard for power systems in New Zealand.
“While our system is pretty robust, from time to time a lightning strike does take out a circuit — it’s impossible to protect against this,” the national grid owner and system operator said.
“Today, we lost both circuits feeding the Hawke’s Bay at the same time due to lightning strikes.”
A Unison spokesperson said: “Transpower has restored one of the circuits to the Hawke’s Bay region, so our control room can start to progressively bring power back on across the region.”
Transpower said just before 5pm that it was getting power restored through the region.
“Our crews have now been able to get power restored to the region and our lines company partners Unison and Firstlight Network will now be able to start getting your power back on. Please have a little more patience as it will take them some time to get that done safely.”
Unison said, “Thanks for your patience, and we hope you can get back to enjoying your Saturday plans once your power is back on.”
Meanwhile, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council said it provided back-up power to a main pump station that removed water from low lying areas.
“We have deployed a generator to the Haumoana pump station to ensure continued service during the current power outage,” it said in a post on social media.
“Our team is on the ground monitoring river and stream levels across Hawke’s Bay and is ready to deploy additional generators and/or portable pumps to other pump stations if required.”
The council later noted full power had been restored to the pump stations and its teams were standing down.
“There have been some community concerns about the Esk River mouth potentially closing up. This is not the case — the Esk River mouth is open,” it said.
NEMA advice:
The National Emergency Management Agency advised, as storms approach:
- Take shelter, preferably indoors away from windows
- Avoid sheltering under trees, if outside
- Get back to land, if outdoors on the water
- Move cars under cover or away from trees
- Secure any loose objects around your property
- Check that drains and gutters are clear
- Be ready to slow down or stop, if driving.
During and after a storm:
- Beware of fallen trees and power lines
- Avoid streams and drains as you may be swept away in flash flooding.
