Water Spouts in Auckland, New Zealand Today - Video

Waterspouts form over Manukau Harbour

Two water spouts were spotted in Auckland's Manukau Harbour this afternoon as wild weather hits parts of the country.

Pictures taken this afternoon clearly show two funnel clouds reaching down towards the water beneath a grey sky.

While unable to say exactly how big they were, WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan said they were large.

"From what you can see on that photo one of them looks big, it looks ...like it would be much bigger than a boat, or a house maybe.

Water spouts -the name given to tornadoes over water - could cause winds averaging between 120 - 200km/h, Mr Duncan said.

"Out at sea they can look a lot more dramatic because they suck up all the water."

There remained a low to moderate risk of small tornadoes in western parts of the country.

Earlier, the MetSevice issued a severe thunderstorm outlook for Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Waitomo, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, northern Gisborne, Buller and Nelson.

MetService meteorologist Daniel Corbett said tornadoes were possible but unlikely.


[link to www.nzherald.co.nz]

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[link to www.nzherald.co.nz]

Waterspouts hit city

Small waterspouts have swirled across Auckland this afternoon during a sudden heavy downpour.

Workers stopped to take photos of the spectacle as dark clouds descended over the city and the spouts appeared at about 3.30pm.

“It looked like a really small tornado, it was pretty scary at first,” said witness Jess Burrows, who took a photo of a spout over the Manukau harbour near the airport.

“Before I knew what it was I was a bit apprehensive.”

Molly Hottman posted an image on the Stuff.co.nz Facebook page of two funnel clouds over the Waitakeres.

“Looks like its towards the Blockhouse Bay area,” she said.

WeatherWatch.co.nz said it warned Auckland Civil Defence that there was a "low to moderate" risk of tornadoes forming later today in Auckland and again there are risks on Wednesday. It said risk of one hitting homes was "very low".

MetService forecaster Dan Corbett said the funnels had formed ahead of the main band of thunder and rain showers which hit Auckland this afternoon.

"They're funnels as soon as they form, then they're tornadoes if they hit the ground, then they're waterspouts when they hit the water.

"We see them quite often, particularly across the far north. We'll see maybe around 20 to 30 of them across the course of the year.

"It's been an active day... so people always need to keep an eye out on the weather.''


[link to www.stuff.co.nz]

In this clip, the scene looks stunning, gentle and compelling. Then you remember what is happening in Oklahoma tonight :(

[link to tvnz.co.nz]