NZ Historic Weather Events Catalogue
April 2018 New Zealand Storm ( 2018-04-10 )
A low pressure system crossed New Zealand, bringing severe gales to the North Island and upper South Island. Auckland was particularly badly affected. Two tornadoes (one at Rahotu in Taranaki, and the other at National Park) were reported.
New Zealand
High Wind / Gust
at
New Zealand
Duration: 2 days - From the 10th to 11th of April.
Insurance claims totalled $74.4 million.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING 8:10 pm Monday 09-Apr-2018. Heavy Snow for Canterbury High Country and Kaikoura Ranges. Severe gales for parts of the upper South Island and North Island.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING 3:53 pm Tuesday 10-Apr-2018. Heavy Snow for the Kaikoura Ranges, easing. Heavy rain for Taranaki, Taihape, Whanganui and the Tararua Ranges. Severe gales for parts of the upper South Island and North Island.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING 9:06 am Wednesday 11-Apr-2018. Heavy rain for parts of Taranaki, Whanganui and Hawkes Bay, easing later today.
Auckland
High Wind / Gust
at
Auckland City
Wind gusts reached hurricane force overnight on 10/11 April. Gusts reached 100-150km/h across central Auckland, peaking at 213km/h at Manukau Heads.
Power was out to about 120,000 homes in Auckland, after sustained winds of 100km/h battered the area.
All flights into Auckland Airport were diverted because of wind-blown debris on the main runway.
Trees had fallen on to homes and cars across Auckland.
Widespread power outages meant 50
Spark cellphone towers around the country were offline, and more were running on battery power. Vodafone had about 70 sites that were offline. The majority of the affected cellphone towers were in the greater Auckland area.
A number of West Auckland schools were closed.
Cornwall Park was closed as six large trees had been uprooted.
Auckland Zoo was closed.
Taranaki
Tornado
at
Rahotu
About a dozen homes in Rahotu lost their roofs. Seven families had to be re-located. Farm buildings were destroyed and power lines came down.
At least nine local schools were closed due to the weather.
High Wind / Gust
at
Taranaki
About 12,000 properties were affected by power cuts.
At least 10 flights into New Plymouth airport were cancelled due to the weather.
Manawatu-Wanganui
Tornado
at
National Park
Eleven homes were deemed to be uninhabitable after a tornado ripped off roofs and severely damaged them. Seven properties were red-stickered and six properties were yellow-stickered. Trees and power lines were also brought down.
A Welfare Centre was set up at the local primary school.
Snow / Ice
at
Desert Road
Snow closed the Desert Road, between Rangipo and Waiouru.
West Coast
High Wind / Gust
at
Karamea
About 315 households in Karamea and Little Wanganui lost power due to fallen trees in the area.
High Wind / Gust
at
Westport
The winds lifted roofs in Westport and Greymouth.
State Highway 67, between Westport and Karamea was closed.
Three camper vans and one caravan were overturned by the strong winds near Hokitika, Mount Hercules, Harihari and Westport.
Wellington
Maritime / Coastal
at
Cook Strait
All InterIslander ferries were cancelled due to high seas in Cook Strait.
References
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.), Newsletter 153, Winter 2018
- Insurance Council of New Zealand (https://www.icnz.org.nz/natural-disasters/cost-of-natural-disasters/)
- Headline: Tornadoes severely damage North Island homes
- www.radionz.co.nz, 10 April 2018.
- Headline: Region by region: What you need to know about the storm.
- www.radionz.co.nz, 10 April 2018.
- Headline: Powerful winds causing 'chaos' in Akl, thousands without power.
- www.radionz.co.nz, 11 April 2018.
- Headline: More than 100,000 Auckland homes without power, some may be cut off for days
- www.stuff.co.nz, 11 April 2018.
April 2018 New Zealand Storm ( 2018-04-10 )
A low pressure system crossed New Zealand, bringing severe gales to the North Island and upper South Island. Auckland was particularly badly affected. Two tornadoes (one at Rahotu in Taranaki, and the other at National Park) were reported.
New Zealand
High Wind / Gust
at
New Zealand
Duration: 2 days - From the 10th to 11th of April.
Insurance claims totalled $74.4 million.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING 8:10 pm Monday 09-Apr-2018. Heavy Snow for Canterbury High Country and Kaikoura Ranges. Severe gales for parts of the upper South Island and North Island.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING 3:53 pm Tuesday 10-Apr-2018. Heavy Snow for the Kaikoura Ranges, easing. Heavy rain for Taranaki, Taihape, Whanganui and the Tararua Ranges. Severe gales for parts of the upper South Island and North Island.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING 9:06 am Wednesday 11-Apr-2018. Heavy rain for parts of Taranaki, Whanganui and Hawkes Bay, easing later today.
Auckland
High Wind / Gust
at
Auckland City
Wind gusts reached hurricane force overnight on 10/11 April. Gusts reached 100-150km/h across central Auckland, peaking at 213km/h at Manukau Heads.
Power was out to about 120,000 homes in Auckland, after sustained winds of 100km/h battered the area.
All flights into Auckland Airport were diverted because of wind-blown debris on the main runway.
Trees had fallen on to homes and cars across Auckland.
Widespread power outages meant 50
Spark cellphone towers around the country were offline, and more were running on battery power. Vodafone had about 70 sites that were offline. The majority of the affected cellphone towers were in the greater Auckland area.
A number of West Auckland schools were closed.
Cornwall Park was closed as six large trees had been uprooted.
Auckland Zoo was closed.
Taranaki
Tornado
at
Rahotu
About a dozen homes in Rahotu lost their roofs. Seven families had to be re-located. Farm buildings were destroyed and power lines came down.
At least nine local schools were closed due to the weather.
High Wind / Gust
at
Taranaki
About 12,000 properties were affected by power cuts.
At least 10 flights into New Plymouth airport were cancelled due to the weather.
Manawatu-Wanganui
Tornado
at
National Park
Eleven homes were deemed to be uninhabitable after a tornado ripped off roofs and severely damaged them. Seven properties were red-stickered and six properties were yellow-stickered. Trees and power lines were also brought down.
A Welfare Centre was set up at the local primary school.
Snow / Ice
at
Desert Road
Snow closed the Desert Road, between Rangipo and Waiouru.
West Coast
High Wind / Gust
at
Karamea
About 315 households in Karamea and Little Wanganui lost power due to fallen trees in the area.
High Wind / Gust
at
Westport
The winds lifted roofs in Westport and Greymouth.
State Highway 67, between Westport and Karamea was closed.
Three camper vans and one caravan were overturned by the strong winds near Hokitika, Mount Hercules, Harihari and Westport.
Wellington
Maritime / Coastal
at
Cook Strait
All InterIslander ferries were cancelled due to high seas in Cook Strait.
References
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.), Newsletter 153, Winter 2018
- Insurance Council of New Zealand (https://www.icnz.org.nz/natural-disasters/cost-of-natural-disasters/)
- Headline: Tornadoes severely damage North Island homes
- www.radionz.co.nz, 10 April 2018.
- Headline: Region by region: What you need to know about the storm.
- www.radionz.co.nz, 10 April 2018.
- Headline: Powerful winds causing 'chaos' in Akl, thousands without power.
- www.radionz.co.nz, 11 April 2018.
- Headline: More than 100,000 Auckland homes without power, some may be cut off for days
- www.stuff.co.nz, 11 April 2018.