A tornado cut a swathe through the Bay of Plenty seaside town of Ohope on Monday, uprooting trees, smashing windows, lifting roof tiles, damaging fences and moving a trampoline.
It blew up as a low pressure system, described by MetService as “significant”, moved across the North Island.
Pictures on the Ohope Volunteer Fire Brigade’s Facebook page show a piece of wood embedded in a house wall, smashed outdoor furniture, and a wrecked shed.
“Our crew spent a wet and windy morning doing emergency repairs to a few houses in Ohope after what appears to be a mini tornado went through the Te Taiawatea Drive area earlier this morning,” the posting said.
Commenting, Kate Bartlett said she thought a low flying plane was passing over. “The wind was incredible and the noise was so loud. Our trees were bent over sideways but thankfully no damage.”
MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said there was a line of thunderstorms in the area around the time of the tornado. “The ingredients were there for tornados in that area. It was probably just a really localised event,” he said.
Much of the North Island received decent amounts of rain on Monday, with 50mm recorded in Whangarei, more than 40mm in Wellington and Palmerston North, 22mm in Auckland, 26mm in Tauranga, and 35mm in Rotorua.
MICHAEL DALY
Last updated 11:43, November 8 2016
