Record rainfall and strong winds struck New Zealand at approximately 09:00 LT (21:00 UTC) on May 1, 2025, prompting a Red Alert for the North Island and a state of emergency for parts of the South Island.
A powerful low pressure system in the Tasman Sea, the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Tam, generated large and hazardous surf along the east coast of Australia over the Easter weekend, leaving at least five people dead and two missing in New South Wales and Victoria.
Tropical Cyclone Tam, named by the Fiji Meteorological Service on April 15, 2025, is moving southeast and will bring severe weather to New Zealand’s Upper North Island beginning April 16. The center of the storm is expected to remain west of Cape Reinga, but heavy rain, strong winds, and dangerous coastal conditions are forecast to impact North Island in the days ahead.
A powerful tornado swept through the Mangawhai village in New Zealand on Sunday, January 26, 2025, damaging more than 50 properties and leaving 2 people seriously injured.
Mount Hutt skifield in New Zealand received nearly a meter (3 feet) of unexpected late-season snow, creating snowdrifts as high as 5 m (16 feet), which could prompt a rare reopening. The snowfall occurred over the long holiday weekend, peaking on October 26, 2024.
Dunedin has recorded its wettest day of the century, with a staggering 130.8 mm (5.15 inches) of rain falling in just 24 hours between October 3 and October 4, 2024, as a moisture plume from the Tasman Sea drenched parts of New Zealand’s Otago region.
On July 30, 2024, NIWA reported that the anomalies from the recent stratospheric warming have started to propagate downward and are affecting tropospheric weather patterns in the southern hemisphere.
Over the weekend of September 16 – 17, 2023, New Zealand’s MetService forecasts an intense westerly wind event across the South Island and the southern half of the North Island. This anticipated event could be more disruptive than yesterday’s strong winds, which resulted in power outages in Wairarapa.
New Zealand’s MetService upgraded its Heavy Rain Warning to the highest level – Red – for Gisborne area. This is the highest severe weather warning and indicates that people must take immediate action to protect people, animals and property from the impact of the weather. The warning is in effect through Sunday morning, June 25.
A sudden cloudburst on Monday afternoon, May 29, 2023, led to flash flooding at Waihi Beach in the western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, resulting in evacuations and significant damage. Approximately 60 mm (2.3 inches) of rain fell during the burst, causing floodwaters to reach waist height at their peak.
