Storm smashes into South Taranaki
South Taranaki was hammered by rain, hail and thunderstorms, while North Taranaki basked in sunshine yesterday afternoon.
Mike Fairweather said Ha¯ wera firefighters yesterday attended flooding at a residential address in the town following the localised downpours.
The storm only affected those south of the mountain, while New Plymouth basked in sunshine, light winds and a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius.
Diane Gregor, who lives on Glasgow St in Hawera, suffered some damage from the hail after it put holes in plastic roofing covering her dog kennels.
‘‘The dogs were going nuts, just the sheer force of it. I didn’t expect it to be such a volume it was quite frightening,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s the worst I’ve experienced in my life here in Ha¯ wera.’’
Numerous videos and photos of the storm were posted to social media.
The South Taranaki District Council posted to its page saying: ‘‘Hi everyone, we’ve had some pretty intensive thunder/lightning/ rain/hail around the district so please take extra care on the roads.
‘‘We’ve had reports of flash flooding on Eltham Rd, Te Kiri by Patiki Rd. Take care out there!’’
One photo of hail posted to the STDC page showed hailstones bigger than a $1 coin. A thunderstorm watch had been in place for Taranaki and MetService said the thunderstorms developed over the northern and central North Island yesterday afternoon..
Kris Boult