A tornado is causing mayhem in the Waikato, causing power outages, fallen trees and lifting a roof off a building.
A police spokesperson confirmed they have received reports of a tornado in the Hauraki District as well as reports of powerlines and trees falling down.
Fire and Emergency NZ said in a statement they "were called to assist with a roof lifting in Paeroa, Hauraki District". One fire truck was sent to the scene.
The caretaker of the holiday park Paeroa RV Centre told the NZ Herald residents were terrified as a tornado lifted the roof of the campground's hall.
"I saw it coming from over the back of the thing [hall], it came through the trees and ripped branches off when it just smashed the hall," he said.
Paeroa resident David Page captured the tornado knocking down trees on video. He said it was sunny five minutes before the tornado hit just south of his house.
Hauraki District Council urged residents to take care and "batten down the hatches". The Council said in a statement on Facebook they are hearing reports of wild winds in Paeroa, power outages in Ngatea and a tree blocking some of the road in the Karangahake Gorge.
Powerco is urging customers in Ngātea, Kerepehi, Paeroa and surrounding areas to stay well clear of downed or low power lines after reports of a tornado going through the area this afternoon.
A total of 595 Paeroa customers lost power at 1:46pm, while 947 Ngatea and Kerepehi customers lost supply a minute later at 1:47pm.
"To stay safe, it's important if people come across downed or low power lines, they keep well clear and call Powerco’s emergency line on 0800 27 27 27," head of network operations Caz Haydon said in a statement.
"We've had multiple emergency jobs come through since just after 1:45pm, including reports of lines down.
"Our crews will work to make repairs once it is safe to do so. While our contracted field crews have a depot in Paeroa, the high winds have caused some damage to the building as well as some of the work vehicles.
"For this reason, we’ve called in back-up from Coromandel to support the crews currently on the ground."
'Plausible' the damage was caused by a tornado - MetService
MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said the damage they have seen is consistent with what would be expected from a small tornado.
An active line of thunderstorms crossing the central and upper North Island on Wednesday afternoon brought very heavy rain, some gusts of wind and several thousand lightning strikes, Hines said.
"Thunderstorms of this size can produce small yet damaging tornados. While we aren't able to confirm this on our radar images, due to the size of the system, some photos or video could confirm that was the case here," Hines said.
"The images of damage we've seen are consistent with what you'd expect from a small tornado, so it is certainly plausible that this was caused by one."
The storm activity is forecast to move eastwards towards the Bay of Plenty. A heavy rain watch has been issued for the region until 7pm Wednesday.
Lightning strikes Auckland
An Aucklander has captured the loud rumble of thunder as the city also grappled with the stormy weather.
Air New Zealand has cancelled two flights after one of its planes was struck by lighting after departing Auckland. As a result, the plane was forced to turn around. Read more here.
Also, Waka Kotahi has placed speed restrictions on the Auckland Harbour Bridge due to severe wind gusts and urges motorists to drive with extra care. Earlier in the day, there were reduced lanes on the bridge.
