Some areas of northern Southland have been rattled by storms and heavy rain fell in Invercargill on Thursday. Southland was hit by 500 lightning strikes between 5pm and 7pm on Thursday as thunderstorms rumbled across the region. Metservice forecaster Ravi Kandula said parts of Southland were hit by localised storms, with 15mm of rain recorded in Invercargill and 20mm recorded in Riverton between 6pm and 7pm. There was "significant" shower activity and thunderstorms in other areas of Southland during the afternoon, caused by daytime heating and wind convergences. Any thunderstorms there could be accompanied by heavy rain with intensities of 10 to 25mm per hour, and small hail.

Source: Stuff November 29, 2018 04:32 UTC