Climate Change Brings More Tornadoes.
Today we had another major tornado in Auckland, New Zealand. At around 12.30 midday, it hit the area around Hobsonville very badly, killing three people, and putting at least seven others in a critical condition. Many roofs were blown off houses, garages disappeared, and trees blown down.
Shortly after the tornado and storms had struck Auckland, around 2PM, we experienced much thunder, lightning, and a massive deluge of rain down in the Waikato. Parts of the town of Morrinsville were flooded for a time.
Taranaki and the West Coast of the South Island are prone to Tornadoes, but we do not usually expect them in Auckland. It seems that tornadoes are becoming part of the new weather pattern for Auckland, with the incidence now being around two a year. The last big one which did much damage in the Auckland area was on the 3rd May last year, 2011. This one hit the area of Albany on the North Shore, and killed one person. Other tornadoes have been spotted out at sea in the past year.
Back in 1948, when the occurrence of tornadoes in the North Island was a pretty rare thing, a major one struck the area of Hamilton in the Waikato, causing much destruction and some loss of life.
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