09/24/2025
🌩️ Westland Rain Radar Update
Following a massive lightning strike on Thursday 18 September, our technical team has completed an initial assessment of the Westland Rain Radar near Hokitika, and the news isn't great.
🔧 The radar has sustained significant damage, and repairs will be complex. We now expect the radar to remain offline for an extended period.
How could a lightning strike cause this?⚡️
A 156,000-amp lightning strike (the national average is around 29kA so that's about 5 times more powerful than a typical bolt for NZ) hit the area. That’s enough energy to power an average home for over two years!
A lightning strike can heat the air it passes through to about 30,000 degrees Celsius, which is five times hotter than the surface of the sun, unleashing a blinding flash, deafening thunder, and a shockwave strong enough to destroy the radome. Moisture in nearby structures likely vaporised instantly, leading to explosive damage.
💥 Needless to say, this kind of strike can fry electronics and overwhelm even robust grounding systems, and our radar took the full hit.
🛰️ While the radar is down, our meteorologists are actively monitoring weather using:
•Satellite imagery
•Neighbouring radar sites
•Weather stations
•High-resolution computer models
We know how important this radar is to the West Coast and surrounding communities, and we’re committed to restoring it as soon as we can. In the meantime, we’ll continue providing accurate forecasts and timely Severe Weather Warnings.
Stay updated here: www.metservice.com/warnings
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
