Auckland commuters faced major delays across the city’s motorway network this evening as traffic ground to a halt amid a severe thunderstorm watch.
All lanes have now reopened at Papakura following an earlier incident where debris spilled from the back of a truck, forcing a full closure.
Meanwhile, separate breakdowns temporarily shut down lanes on both the Northwestern and Southwestern motorways.
A fatal crash on the North Shore added to the congestion. Police said a vehicle left Onewa Rd and collided with a power pole on Seaview Ave just after 4.30pm. “Despite medical assistance being provided at the scene, sadly we can confirm the sole occupant died,” a police statement said.
A crash involving several cars on the Southwestern motorway was reported to police at 6.35pm. There were no reported injuries but the crash caused “significant traffic congestion”, police said.
‘Energetic band’ of thunderstorms
MetService said an “energetic band of squally thunderstorms” was forecast to move over northern and western parts of the North Island as well as western Tasman today.
The forecaster has issued a thunderstorm watch for parts of the upper North Island again, including Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula and parts of western Waikato and Taranaki.
The watch was forecast to last for eight hours from 4pm through to midnight.
“An active front is expected to move eastwards onto the North Island late this afternoon bringing thunderstorms to several places.
“For Northland, Auckland (including Great Barrier Island), northern Coromandel Peninsula, and western areas of Waikato, Waitomo and Taranaki these thunderstorms may bring downpours of 25mm to 40 mm per hour to localised areas.”
The forecaster said rainfall of this intensity could cause surface and/or flash flooding “especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips”.
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It warned driving conditions could also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain.
The main risk would begin in northern Northland and western Taranaki around 4pm and spread east, reaching Auckland and Waikato around 6pm.
“Conditions should begin to ease in western areas from 9pm,” it said.
A heavy rain watch was also in force for the Bay of Plenty from 7pm to 6am tomorrow.
MetService said an “active frontal system” would move over the North Island tonight and early on Wednesday morning.
Earlier this morning, fog disrupted some domestic and regional flights at Auckland Airport.
Further south, motorists were warned to drive to the conditions due to ice, fog and snow on parts of the roading network in Otago, Southland and Canterbury.
