Weather: Severe thunderstorm watch continues across upper North Island

“For inland parts of Northland, Auckland, the far south of Coromandel Peninsula, the far west of the Bay of Plenty and the northwest corner of Waikato, there is a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms with localised downpours of 25 to 40mm/h between 3 and 9pm today,” MetService said.

“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.

“Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain.”

The National Emergency Management Agency advises that as storms approach, people 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, people should also:

Beware of fallen trees and power lines;Avoid streams and drains as you may be swept away in flash flooding.The area covered by Sunday’s severe thunderstorm watch. Image / MetService

MetService meteorologist Katie Hillyer said places further east in Northland were most likely to be affected by today’s weather.

“The worst-affected areas yesterday were inland Northland and a bit closer to the West Coast as well. Today, it’s a little bit more focused just right down the spine inland.”

Hillyer said the risk of downpours or flash flooding was the real hazard compared to lightning strikes.

Today’s thunderstorms and heavy rain may linger over a location for a long period of time.

“Quite often, we’ll have thunderstorms and heavy rain and downpours with fronts that move through an area but this is setting up in a convergence and can just sit over one location and so really drive up the rainfall in a very localised way,” Hillyer said.

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