Freak Hail Storm Hits Kihikihi

Bruce and Stephanie Owen have lived in Kihikihi for 27 years and have never witnessed anything like today's freak weather.

"It began raining so I was getting the washing in, when the rain just started getting harder and harder," explains Mrs Owen. "Soon it was hail, then hailstones the size of coins. Before long there were hailstone waterfalls coming off the roof."

Mr Owen couldn't believe the ferocity of the short storm. "The heaviest part lasted about 10 minutes," he says. "It was so hard I started worrying about the windows breaking."

Once the storm had passed dozens of locals took to the streets and reveled in the snow-like conditions. Spontaneous snow fights erupted everywhere and many youngsters removed the wheels from their skateboards and went "street snowboarding".

The freak storm appears to have passed over Kihikihi and the areas to the south. Some parts of Te Awamutu were also affected, but to a much lesser extent.

The event was reported in the weather section of TV One News.