Weather tracker: floods and tornado hit New Zealand as Europe heats up

Storms followed months of heavy rain on the North Island, while temperatures in France and Spain rose to almost 20C

Over the Christmas period, the upper North Island of New Zealand experienced stormy conditions, grounding flights and flooding roads. Thunderstorms broke out on 22 December, leading to heavy rainfall and an incredible 4,500 lightning strikes in just two hours. Unfortunately, one of these lightning strikes set a property alight in the town of Waittara in the south of the island. Although no injuries were reported, the property and surrounding farmlands were mostly destroyed. Furthermore, a small tornado was spotted in the Southland region of the South Island, though thankfully, no damage was caused.

Although there were long sunny spells on Christmas Day, thunderstorms arose once more on Boxing Day. Between 2pm and 7pm local time, about 25-40mm fell over the upper North Island, although one rain gauge in the Auckland suburb of thuhu recorded 50mm in just one hour. Parts of the motorway close to Mount Wellington were consequently closed, and several flights grounded. This excessive rainfall comes after several months of above average precipitation for the area, which exacerbated the risk of ground flooding and landslides.