A thunderstorm watch has been issued for parts of Otago and Canterbury today.
The watch period is between 1pm and 9pm today for the areas of Canterbury Plains, Canterbury High Country, North Otago, Dunedin, and Clutha.
MetService said the thunderstorms are expected in “many parts of the South Island today”.
They bring the risk of localised heavy rain between 10 to 25 mm/h, and hail between 5 and 20mm in diameter.
MetService said thunderstorms could develop from early afternoon, and could produce large accumulations of hail, or hail greater than 20mm in diameter.
“Large hail can cause significant damage to crops, orchards, vines, glasshouses, and vehicles, as well as make driving conditions hazardous.”
The next update on the thunderstorm activity would be provided at 8pm, it said.
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