Photo: Unsplash / Daoudi Aissa
MetService has lifted a red severe thunderstorm warning for Northland, but a storm watch is still in place over the wider Northland and Auckland regions.
MetService says its radar detected a line of severe thunderstorms moving northeast. The thunderstorms are likely to be accompanied with very heavy rain, damaging wind gusts and hail, it said.
It warned that strong gusts could cause structural damage to trees and powerlines, and heavy rain could cause surface or flash flooding.
A thunderstorm watch is in place for Auckland and the rest of Northland.
A strong wind watch is also in place for Northland, Auckland including Great Barrier Island, and Coromandel Peninsula.
The Northcote Point and Birkenhead stops on the Inner Harbour Loop ferry service have been replaced by taxis because of choppy seas.
MetService says the National Emergency Management Agency advises that as storms approach you should:
- 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 the storm, you should also:
- Beware of fallen trees and power lines;
- Avoid streams and drains as you may be swept away in flash flooding.
By Saturday evening more than 700 households were still without power in the North Island following thunderstorms.
One of the most affected areas was the Far North, where nearly 500 customers were without electricity.
Another 173 homes were also without power north of Thames on the Coromandel Peninsula and around 88 near Martinborough in Wairarapa.
In the South Island, there were power cuts in Berwick and Oturehua in Otago.
Tree down, caravan overturned
Fire and Emergency says it was called to help an Auckland household after a tree fell on Saturday morning.
Strong winds knocked the tree onto a house on Athenic Ave in Lynfield just before 9.30am.
A spokesperson for Fire and Emergency says a crew helped to shift the tree.
High winds overturned a caravan at the Gentle Annie Seaside Campground in the Buller District.
Fire and Emergency was called to the campground in Mokihinui, around 1am.
Campground owner Jesse Paley-Atkins said an "isolated twister" caused the caravan to tip over.
Paley-Atkins told RNZ the couple who were in the caravan were both fine and well, although one of them had a sore shoulder.
The MetService said it was unaware of any tornadoes last night but strong gusts did hit the region.
Events cancelled
Two events in the North Island have been cancelled due to flooding.
Saturday's Matamata A&P Show was cut short after flooding caused organisers to cancel the equestrian section of the event. The organisers later closed the entire show due to the weather.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing says flooding has forced it to abandon races in Woodville on Sunday.
Harbour Bridge warning
An area warning is in place for Auckland's Harbour Bridge due to strong winds.
Waka Kotahi warns that reduced speed limits and lane closures could be possible. The bridge could be closed entirely if winds reach 90km/h, it said.
The warning is in place until 8pm Saturday.
The transport agency is encouraging drivers of high-sided vehicles or motorcycles to consider using the Western Ring Route instead of the bridge.
Slip, swell warnings
MetService has reissued a heavy swells warning for Wellington and Wairarapa coasts, from midday Saturday.
Labour Party candidate Greg O'Connor said a driver was extremely fortunate not to have been harmed after a slip came down on a Wellington road, hitting his vehicle.
The slip is blocking Onslow Road in Khandallah, and came down close to O'Connor's home.
The driver stopped when rocks came onto the road, then tonnes of dirt came down, hitting the man's vehicle, O'Connor said.
If the driver had been a metre or two further down the road, his car could have been swept off the road and down a cliff, he said.
A slip blocking Onslow Road in Khandallah, Wellington. Photo: Supplied / Greg O'Connor
O'Connor, who is standing as an electorate only candidate in Ohariu, said the electorate has suffered from underinvestment in water management.