Near continuous thunder, hail, dramatic forked lightning and a towering black and ominous cloud kicked off the start of a short and sharp thunderstorm over Auckland this evening and while conditions have eased in some areas they are now only just starting in others.

Auckland is a large region and further thunderstorms, some squally with hail and torrential rain, will move over parts of Auckland tonight – and into Tuesday morning.

“Thunderstorms tend to ‘breathe'” says WeatherWatch.co.nz on their Facebook page.  “By that we mean they grow and shrink, grow and shrink. In this case it started to shrink right on landfall in Auckland. More coming in behind it so the risk remains all evening”.

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Thunderstorms are now pushing into Northland and eastern Waikato where conditions were clear and calm a short time ago.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says it’s possible thunderstorms will continue to push east into Rotorua and Bay of Plenty.

However the attention remains on north western New Zealand as a cold change moves up the Tasman Sea.

Despite some parts of Auckland only receiving a short, sharp dose of thunder more storms are lining up in the Tasman Sea.  “It’s too early to know where they will exactly end up later tonight but western areas of the North Island are certainly at risk tonight” says head weather analyst Philip Duncan.

There was an unconfirmed report of a funnel cloud over the Manukau Heads as the front came in.  WeatherWatch.co.nz said this morning that while the risk for tornados in Auckland wasn’t high it couldn’t be ruled out either.   A funnel cloud is the beginning of a tornado but only becomes one once it touches down. 

The Lightning Tracker at WeatherWatch.co.nz peaked at over 3200 lightning strikes per hour around 5pm, but by 7pm had dropped to just over 1000 per hour.  

Despite the tapering off WeatherWatch.co.nz says more isolated thunderstorms are likely overnight and the risk for isolated pockets of severe weather remains.

Residents are advised to stay in doors during thunderstorms and motorists are advised to be prepared for sudden limited visibility in squally conditions.  Hail may also make driving hazardous and could damage glasshouses and cars should thunderstorms become severe.

WeatherWatch.co.nz first issued a Storm Alert for thunderstorms and potentially dangerous weather at 5pm with MetService issuing a Severe Thunderstorm Watch nearly an hour later at 6pm.

“A line of thunderstorms over the sea may come onshore over Auckland this evening. These storms are likely to be accompanied by wind gusts of 100 to 120km/hr and hail of 10 to 25mm in diameter. Wind gusts of this strength can cause some structural damage, including trees and power lines, and may make driving hazardous. Large hail can cause significant damage to glasshouses and vehicles, as well as make driving conditions hazardous” said MetService.

WeatherWatch.co.nz says not all residents within the upper and western North Island will be affected by thunder or severe weather but are advising people to remain aware of conditions around them over the next 12 hours (until dawn Tuesday)

– WeatherWatch.co.nz