December_2012_Auckland_Tornado 2012-12-06 Severe Around midday on Thursday 6 December an active trough line passed slowly through Auckland. A thunderstorm in this line produced a tornado that touched down near Hobsonville and Whenuapai. After passing northwest Auckland, the line of showers continued on a southeast path that took it across northern Waikato, Bay of Plenty and across Mahia Peninsula Insurance claims for the tornado total $6.5 million. The tornado struck about 12:15pm, ripping roofs from houses, toppling trees and sending debris flying. Houses were crushed by trees; some completely flattened. Power lines had been ripped out, windows smashed, and entire roofs had blown away. The cost of the clean-up is estimated at $13 million. There are 22 houses up for demolition; 18 in Whenuapai and four in Hobsonville. Power was disrupted for about 1300 customers. Numerous parts of Auckland were affected, including Henderson, Greenhithe, Hobsonville, Riverhead, Meadowbank and St Johns. There was widespread surface flooding on roads and motorways throughout Auckland and motorists were urged to take care or stay off the roads if possible. Several roads were closed, including State Highway 18 due to debris on the roads. -36.796077 174.648834 Three construction workers working at the Hobsonville Point school construction site were killed when they were crushed by falling concrete panels. Seven people were taken to hospital, suffering moderate and minor injuries. The storm damaged 150 houses and forced 250 residents to evacuate to the nearby Whenuapai airforce base. -36.788052 174.613904 The damage to the area around Waimarie and Totara Roads was extensive, with eight power poles and three transformers needing to be replaced. Wind gusts of 110km/h were recorded at Whenuapai. -37.008447 174.782053 Airport staff were ordered off its tarmac to take shelter. At least 19 flight arrivals and 14 departures were cancelled. -38.140434 176.262282 Forty schoolchildren were left stranded at a remote horse riding school, about 20 km northwest of Rotorua, when a 45 metre high gum tree was blown over and blocked the road. The tree brought down power lines, cutting power to 200 homes. A trampoline was blown through the wall of a house at the riding school. The strong winds sent calves flying into the air, and horses were hurt when they were struck by lightning. There was also flash flooding resulting from torrential rain associated with the storm. -38.43602 176.341011 Eight dairy cows were killed by lightning, when a storm struck about 3 pm. The storm brought more than 54mm of rainfall to the region and dozens of lightning strikes. Waikato experienced thunder, heavy rain and surface flooding during a storm that swept through in the afternoon. New Zealand Herald, 7 December 2012. Reference New Zealand Herald, 7 December 2012. Reference www.stuff.co.nz, 6 December 2012. Reference www.stuff.co.nz, 7 December 2012. Reference www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz, 11 December 2012. Reference www.stuff.co.nz, 10 December 2012. Reference www.stuff.co.nz, 11 December 2012. Reference Reference May_2011_Auckland_Tornado 2011-05-03 Severe The tornado formed from a very active and well defined band of thunderstorm activity on the afternoon of the 3rd May 2011. The destructive tornado swept across Auckland's North Shore, leaving a trail of destruction from Albany to Glenfield. Insurance claims for the tornado total $6 million. The tornado hit the area about 3 pm on Tuesday, affecting the suburbs of Albany, Birkenhead, Glenfield and Kaipatiki. The damage resulting from this tornado suggests it falls into the F2 class of the Fujita Scale. An F2 tornado is categorised as causing significant damage: roofs torn off frame houses, large trees snapped or uprooted, light-object missiles generated, cars overturned. Radar images of the Albany tornado of Tuesday 3 May 2011 reveal the presence of a mesocyclone, indicating a strong low-level rotating updraft. The radar derived storm track suggests that the tornado occurred during the middle stages of the storm's lifetime. The tornado reached speeds of 200 kilometres per hour lifting cars into the air, uprooting trees and flinging roofing iron. The damage is consistent with wind speeds of between 180 and 200 km/hr. -36.726496 174.689154 The tornado appeared to begin around the Albany Megacentre and Westfield Malls. It took part of the roof off at Farmers and damaged the old Placemakers building. It came down through Rosedale area. Vehicles and buildings were damaged there. Roofs came off in Unsworth Heights area, a residential area of the North Shore. It then went down through Kaipatiki Road, where Glenfield College is situated. Also in Glenfield a power station was damaged and knocked out. From there the tornado went to Birkenhead and Beach Haven where more trees were taken out. It tracked a path down to Chelsea Sugar Factory and at that point crossed the harbour. It went airborne at that point and dispersed. The Albany Expressway (SH17) was closed after the tornado ripped through the area. The expressway was closed at 4:30 pm and all bus services where affected by the closure. Trains services in the Albany area where also affected. A five month old baby girl and two other children were hurt when their car was turned upside down by the tornado. A Fletcher employee, who was demolishing the old Placemakers building in Albany suffered a broken leg in the tornado, and one of the subcontractors working on the same site was taken to hospital as a result of his injuries. Another 14 people were injured, nine were taken to North Shore Hospital, one with moderate injuries and the rest minor. Another was taken to Auckland City Hospital with moderate injuries. A construction worker who was demolishing the old Placemakers building in Albany was killed when the tornado lifted him into the air and threw him into a concrete wall. The tornado formed from a very active and well defined band of thunderstorm activity. On the afternoon of the 3rd May 2011, a large cloud mass tracked down over Northland and the Kaipara Harbour. The air is always very unstable in the vicinity of these thunder cells and torrential rain. On occasion, for reasons like air temperature change or the topography, things can become violently turbulent, directly below these clouds with air moving up and down rapidly. It was these massive upward and downward motions of air that formed into the destructive tornado that occurred in Albany. The Fire Service said 74 calls for help were made during this time. About a dozen cars were overturned by the tornado with people trapped inside. Aside from the damage to residential and commercial properties, power was cut in Glenfield after a power station was damaged. In Albany, the old Placemakers building was badly damaged and the Pak'N Save supermarket roof was also badly damaged. Commercial buildings and houses where damaged, cars were thrown meters into the air and trees uprooted. The Albany Mega Centre, a large shopping complex, bore the brunt of the violent storm and sustained the most damage. The area around the Mega Centre was cordoned off to keep people away from dangerous loose debris and unstable roofing. Internal roads around the Albany Mega Centre were reopened on the night of Tuesday 3rd May once police determined that the area was safe. The tornado first stuck in Albany at about 3 pm hitting the mall before it moved south, leaving a 15km trail of destruction, across the Waitamata Harbour to Point Chevalier. The distance from where the tornado was first observed, near the corner of Corban Avenue and Munroe Lane, to the shopping centre in Albany is about 800 metres, and the total track from Albany to Point Chevalier was a discontinuous 15 km. There were no reports between Rosedale Park and Glenfield College. Further damage was reported from Roseberry Avenue and again just under 1 km away in Point Chevailer. -36.816899 174.728363 The Fire Services said eight households in Roseberry Avenue in the suburb of Birkenhead had to be evacuated. Damage to homes and falling trees made it unsafe for some to return until safety assessments were carried out. 27 properties have been damaged in total, 20 of them houses in Roseberry Avenue, Birkenhead, around 10 kilometres away from Albany. One house in Roseberry Avenue is uninhabitable. One News, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference New Zealand Herald, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference Stuff.co.nz, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference 3 News (NZPA), 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference 3 News (NZPA), 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference 3 News (Mike Hall), 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference One News, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference Radio New Zealand, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference Radio New Zealand, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference One News, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference Reference New Zealand Herald (Susie Nordqvist, Haydon Donnell, Troy Rawhiti-Forbes, Amelia Wade, Nik Dirga and Robert Smith), 3 May (Tuesday) 2011. Reference The National Business Review, 3 May (Tuesday) 2011, Reference Stuff.co.nz, 4 May (Wednesday) 2011. Reference Stuff.co.nz (Hamish Coleman-Ross), 4 May (Wednesday) 2011. Reference Reference June_1991_Auckland_Tornado 1991-06-30 -36.726496 174.689154 Insurance Industry Payouts for the Albany Tornado totalled $1,500,000 ($2,190,000 2008 dollars). One person was killed. Reference Reference August_1980_Auckland_Tornado 1980-08-01 A tornado struck Onehunga. A woman was killed under a falling tree. -36.921857 174.785998 A tornado stuck Onehunga on the 1st. A woman died under a falling tree. Insurance Industry Payouts for the Onehunga Tornado totalled $800,000 ($3,250,000 2008 dollars). Reference Reference Reference April_1953_Auckland_Tornado 1953-04-01 A tornado struck the Remuera area, causing damage. A man who was in a bus shelter was killed when it collapsed. -36.876567 174.799415 A tornado struck the Remuera and Great South Road area at about 2:30pm on the 1st. The tornado caused local damage. A bus shelter collapsed in Army Road, Remuera. A 21-year-old man in a bus shelter died when the shelter collapsed. Roofing iron was lifted from homes. -36.787162 174.755633 Several houses on the North Shore were damaged. Reference The New Zealand Herald, 2 April 1953. Reference