Watch: Straight-line winds rip roof clean off New Zealand home
New Zealand's MetService was forecasting strong northwesterly winds last Monday and issued Strong Wind Watches and Warnings for the South Island and parts of the lower North Island. Video shows straight-line winds peeling a home roof off in about three seconds.
Video captures moment straight-line winds rip roof clean off New Zealand home
Home security video recorded powerful winds ripping off a roof in Cobden, New Zealand on Monday as a line of strong thunderstorms moved through the island. (Video: Dean French via Storyful)
COBDEN, New Zealand – A powerful wind gust peeled a roof off a New Zealand home last week as the neighbor's security camera recorded the intense thunderstorm event.
Last Monday, Dean French posted the video to Facebook, showing wind whipping about trees and garbage cans and finally pulling the roof off in one clean pull. The roof was gone in about three seconds.
"Tornado in Cobden, Greymouth this morning," French wrote in a Facebook post. "Home owner is okay but shaken."
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Meteorologists with New Zealand's MetService told the New Zealand news outlet, The Press, that the damage was likely not caused by a tornado but by straight-line winds. The outlet reported the 90-year-old homeowner was uninjured.
A screenshot from security video shows the roof of a home in New Zealand being pulled away during severe thunderstorms on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Image: Dean French via Storyful)
New Zealand's MetService was forecasting strong northwesterly winds last Monday and issued Strong Wind Watches and Warnings for the South Island and parts of the lower North Island. These areas were forecast to experience heavy rain and strong winds through mid-morning last Monday.
The MetService told The Press a gust of nearly 53 mph was recorded at the Hokitika weather station.