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Thunderstorm Outlook

Issued at 8:20am 10/11/2026

Valid from 8:20am 10/11/2026 to 1:00am 11/11/2026

A low risk of thunderstorms and localised downpours covers most of the North Island, along with northwest Tasman, as indicated on the chart. However, the risk of thunderstorms and localised downpours for Northland is moderate until evening but for Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Te Puke and Waikato is moderate until midnight. Thunderstorms will generate heavy rain up to 25 mm per hour, while localised downpours will bring rainfall rates of 25 to 40 mm per hour. Broad-scale Severe Weather Watches for heavy rain and a risk of localised downpours are in force for many northern regions of the North Island. There is also a low risk of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening for Buller, Grey, Westland, Fiordland, the Canterbury High Country, the Queenstown Lakes District, and Southland. However, for Southland from Invercargill westwards and southeastern Fiordland the risk is considered moderate during this time. Thunderstorms will likely generate localised heavy rain of 10 to 20 mm per hour. There is minimal risk of thunderstorms or significant convection elsewhere in New Zealand during this period.

Thunderstorm Outlook for New Zealand

Issued at 10:29am 10/11/2026

Valid from 1:00am 11/11/2026 to 1:00pm 11/11/2026

An active front moves slowly east over the northeast of the North Island during the first half of Wednesday and there is an associated moderate risk of thunderstorms and localised downpours for Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato and western Bay of Plenty before dawn, and moderate risk of thunderstorms with low risk of localised downpours for eastern Bay of Plenty throughout the morning. A low risk of thunderstorms covers most of the North Island as indicated on the chart. Thunderstorms will generate heavy rain up to 25 mm per hour, while localised downpours will bring rainfall rates of 25 to 40 mm per hour. Another front associated with a low in the Tasman Sea approaches the South Island during the morning. There is a moderate risk of thunderstorms in the west of the South Island from northwest Tasman to northern Fiordland during the morning, with a broad area of low risk extending slightly further east as depicted on the chart. Thunderstorms will likely generate localised heavy rain of 10 to 25 mm per hour There is also a low risk of thunderstorms from late morning for Canterbury Plains south of Timaru, eastern Otago and Southland due to low level heating and sea breezes convergences setting up inland. There is minimal risk of thunderstorms or significant convection elsewhere in New Zealand during this period.

Thunderstorm Outlook for New Zealand

Severe Thunderstorm Criteria

In New Zealand, MetService classifies a thunderstorm as severe if one or more of the following criteria are met:

Heavy rain (from thunderstorms):

Rainfall of 25mm/h, or more.

Large hail:

Hailstones 20mm in diameter, or larger.

Strong wind gusts (from thunderstorms):

Gusts of 110km/h (60 knots) or stronger.

Damaging tornadoes:

Fujita F1 - i.e. wind speeds greater than 116km/h (63 knots) or stronger.

Note: some tornadic systems such as funnel clouds, waterspouts and small land-based tornadoes are possible with thunderstorms that may not be classified as severe.