An Auckland homeware store appears to have been hit by a "mini tornado" which ripped its enormous shop front sign clean off and warped its front windows overnight. The store's sign, which Smith reckoned must weigh hundreds of kilos, had come off the building's front and smashed to the road below in wild weather. It was very lucky the sign had fallen before the shop was open, Smith said. "The sign is literally hundreds and hundreds of kilos and the windows underneath it, the frame is like it was sucked outward. Civil Defence issues high-wind warningAucklanders are being warned to prepare for high winds and potential tornadoes in the next 24 hours, bringing further disruption.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 11, 2017 01:30 UTC