A mini tornado has ripped through Aongatete causing property damage on Sunday morning.

Aongatete resident Karyn Taylor was home with her daughter Gina, 16, when a sudden downpour of rain and hail came through, bringing a small tornado.

'It happened just before 11am,” says Karyn. 'Gina was looking out the window and she suddenly saw the leaves swirling around above the trees.

'We saw it twirling towards us. It was a really loud noise like a train. We rushed to another room, and got down on the floor away from the windows and waited until it passed.”

Karyn says it took about ten seconds for the tornado to go by them.

'It was really quick. It was raining and hailing together and then the tornado.”

On checking the house for damage, they discovered that the kitchen window had been torn off.

'The window had been open, and the tornado just ripped it off.”

Karyn's husband Hamish had been at church in Welcome Bay when the incident happened and immediately returned home on receiving a message from Karyn.

On checking the property, the couple found even more damage.

'Trees are down. It's ripped the glass out of the glass house with broken glass everywhere.

And of course the trampoline went flying.”

Glass was blown out of the glasshouse and shattered by the tornado at Hamish and Karyn Taylor's home at Aongatete on Sunday morning. Photo: Hamish Taylor.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in force on Sunday afternoon for Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Taupo.

The National Emergency Management Agency advises that as storms approach you should:
- Take shelter, preferably indoors away from windows;
- Avoid sheltering under trees, if outside;
- Get back to land, if outdoors on the water;
- Move cars under cover or away from trees;
- Secure any loose objects around your property;
- Check that drains and gutters are clear;
- Be ready to slow down or stop, if driving.

During and after the storm, you should also:
- Beware of fallen trees and power lines;
- Avoid streams and drains as you may be swept away in flash flooding.

At 01.37 pm, MetService weather radar detected severe thunderstorms near Cambridge, Karapiro, Maungatautari, Te Miro, Leamington, Whitehall, Rotoorangi and Eureka.

"These severe thunderstorms are moving towards the east, and are expected to lie near Cambridge, Karapiro, Arapuni, Maungatautari, Te Miro, Whitehall, and Kiwitahi at 2.07pm, and near Matamata, Tirau, Waharoa, Putaruru, Arapuni, Te Poi, Okoroire, Hinuera and Hodderville at 2.37pm," says a MetService spokesperson.

"These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by very heavy rain, damaging wind gusts, possible tornadoes and hail."

The MetService advises that very heavy rain can cause surface and/or flash flooding about streams, gullies and urban areas, and make driving conditions extremely hazardous.

"Very strong wind gusts can break branches from trees, damage roofing, and make driving hazardous especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles," says a MetService spokesperson.

"Tornadoes can blow out windows, lift roofs, break large branches off trees, generate dangerous flying debris and blow vehicles off the road. Hail can cause damage to crops, orchards and vines and may make driving conditions hazardous."

And Karyn has a word of advice for anyone else caught by a tornado.

'Get away from windows."

The tornado at Aongatete toppled trees on Hamish and Karyn Taylor's property. Photo: Hamish Taylor.