Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:48a.m.
(Photo: Charmaine Featherstone, WeatherWatch.co.nz)
Unstable weather conditions across Auckland at the weekend resulted in some unusual cloud formations.
An amazing ‘UFO cloud’ was spotted near Whenuapai airbase on Sunday afternoon, captured on camera by Whenuapai resident Charmaine Featherstone.
She posted the image of the cloud, which she described as “absolutely massive”, to the WeatherWatch website around 5:30 yesterday afternoon.
Unstable conditions crossing over the Auckland region brought thunder and heavy downpours.
WeatherWatch head weather analyst Philip Duncan said the shift in airmasses over the upper and western North Island resulted in some rapid cloud formation and unusual clouds as the updrafts and downdrafts “do their work”.
"These clouds rapidly bubbled up over the Waitakere Ranges in the warm end of day sun, the slow movement means some downpours are likely to be heavy with isolated thunderstorms which could cause surface flooding in some suburbs The risk for thunder will ease in the early evening but isolated heavy showers may continue to pop up overnight".
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