Mt Hutt experienced an unusually intense snowfall from May 2 to 4, 2025, with accumulations reaching 1.2 m (48 inches). This marks a record for early May snowfall in the area, according to Mt Hutt Ski Area. The storm system also brought damaging winds and flooding to parts of the country, with power outages affecting more than 1 100 homes, particularly in the Wellington region.
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 strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit off the west coast of the South Island, New Zealand at 13:16 UTC on April 29, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). GeoNet is reporting it as an M5.9 earthquake at a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles).
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.
Volcanic ash has been increasingly detected in the steam and gas plume at White Island volcano, New Zealand, over the past few months, prompting authorities to raise the Volcanic Alert Level to 3 on April 17, 2025. Intermittent explosive activity observed during aerial monitoring supports the assessment of elevated volcanic unrest.
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 very bright fireball lasting 8 seconds crossed the sky over New Zealand’s central North Island on April 10, 2025.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.7 hit near the coast of South Island, New Zealand at 01:43 UTC (14:43 local time) on March 25, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 21 km (13 miles). New Zealand’s GeoNet is reporting M6.8 at a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles), and EMSC M7.0 at a depth of 9 km (5.6 miles).
A very bright fireball was observed over the skies of New Zealand at around 22:49 local time (09:49 UTC) on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, with reports indicating a sonic boom and fragmentation.
Small ash emissions along with large white steam plumes have been observed over the past week at White Island volcano in New Zealand, according to a bulletin released by the GNS at 14:30 LT (01:30 UTC) on Monday, February 24, 2025. The Alert Level remains at 2 while the Aviation Color Code has been raised to Orange.
