Tornado hits Auckland: 3 dead

Not that we never get tornados here in New Zealand, but they are quite rare... and I have never heard of one that has killed people in this country. Sure is some crazy weather going around.

www.stuff.co.nz...

There seems to only be one other person ever killed by one in NZ

en.wikipedia.org...

Well, I live in Texas, so tornadoes out here are not rare at all.

To hear of one in New Zealand, however, is very strange indeed. From the look of the video, and the damage, I would say that it was an F-1 to an F-2....which can definitely cause damage. The fatalities were at a construction site? That would make sense, they had no viable shelter to withstand the winds.

The radar pic of the storm approaching Auckland shows a definite "hook echo" pattern on the southern edge of the storm cell.

The weather has been weird in many places lately!

From your article:

Auckland Mayor Len Brown says he was very concerned at casualties on Hobsonville Point.

"Also reports of surface flooding and damage in other parts of Auckland. Please stay safe and if possible stay inside until the weather clears," he said on his Facebook page.

There is much more to staying safe from tornadoes than just staying indoors. Florida here, we have our fair share. NZ may need to become familiar w/ the term "hunker down" and all that it entails when protecting yourself "indoors" during extreme weather. There is much more than just remaining indoors when keeping one and one's family safe.

Tornadoes have a tendency of making your indoors instantly become the outdoors. If one is not properly "hunkered down" then one may end up becoming part of the outdoors as well (no insensitivity intended towards the victims of this tornado).

This is the second tornado new zealand has had in 12 months i think.
The weather in Auckland can get pretty vicous pretty quick.
Its not unusual, but Australia at the moment is experiencing something incredible in terms of lightning/power storms.
Never seen so many electrical storms hit Australia, one after the other for so long.

Its like we're statically charged down here all of a sudden