Government owned forecaster MetService is predicting a risk of thunderstorms in Canterbury this afternoon due to afternoon heating – and some of those cloud build ups may produce tornadoes.

MetService says the risk is from North Otago and across Canterbury for this afternoon and evening,.

“In the east, onshore winds about Canterbury and North Otago this afternoon, combined with the cold temperatures aloft and afternoon heating is likely to produce some heavy showers, with a moderate risk of thunderstorms, as indicated on the chart. Any thunderstorms in these areas are likely to produce locally heavy rain up to 20mm per hour, hail of up to 10mm in diameter and there is even a slight risk of a small tornado” says the MetService forecast in their Thunderstorm Outlook.

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– Homepage image / John Gaul NZTS

– WeatherWatch.co.nz