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| Two were injured when a tornado caused a roof to cave in. Photo credit: Newshub/Alex Parsons, YouTube/Nic Muc Credit: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/11/ |
Two people have been injured after a tornado hit a Christchurch suburb. It hit ripped roofs off buildings and scattered various debris (litter). The storm cut power to more than a thousand homes throughout the city and left part of a tree upside down in powerlines.
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| A tree branch on powerlines over traffic on Waltham Road Credit: https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/ |
The tornado struck the same time as hail rained down on the city on Monday afternoon. Two people were injured at the SaveMart second-hand shop on Battersea Street in Sydenham when the tornado hit the roof. Emergency services were called around at 1:55 pm. The storm lasted for 15 minutes. It started at 1:45 pm and ended at 2 pm, with the tornado, there were large hailstones and rain.
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| The hail that hit Christchurch. Photo credit: Newshub. Credit: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/11/ |
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the thundercloud was about 12 kilometres tall, right up to the top of the troposphere, the lowest level of the atmosphere which contains all of our weather. Weather charts on Monday morning showed small tornadoes were possible in east Christchurch.
At 12:30 pm, MetService reported a severe thunderstorm warning as a front moved from Ashburton towards urban Christchurch.
A stationary truck managed to be blown from one side to the yard to another.
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| The storm which produced a tornado in Sydenham Source: MetConnect Credit: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/ |
What is a tornado?
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| Tornado Funnel Credit: https://twitter.com/MetService/ and https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/ |
A tornado is a violent rotating event which occurs underneath a thunderstorm when it generates strong up-drafts of air, leading a spinning motion in the air which forms into a tornado funnel.
MetService meteorologists Andrew James said that Tornadoes were typically seen on the West Coast and Taranaki, but sometimes in Canterbury.
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