By Mike Hall
So how did the Auckland tornado happen, what made it form?
The tornado, or twister formed from a very active and well defined band of thunderstorm activity.
This afternoon a large cloud mass tracked down over Northland and the Kaipara Harbour.
The air is always very unstable in the vicinity of these thunder cells and torrential rain.
On occasions, for reasons like air temperature change or the topography, things can become violently turbulent, directly below these clouds with air moving up and down rapidly.
It was these massive upward and downward motions of air that formed into the destructive twister we saw hit Albany.
Click here for more on the formation of tornadoes.
- Eye-witness accounts of the tornado as it struck Albany Mega Centre.
- VIDEO: Debris flies as tornado thrashes past buildings
- Footage of Auckland tornado moving past buildings
- Footage of Auckland tornado forming
3 News
source: newshub archive
