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Freak tornado caused havoc on New Zealand's South Island on Sunday
Motorists and residents filmed the chaos, which including flying debris
Rare weather event sparked by severe thunderstorms and hail earlier in the day
Kiwis can expect more unseasonal weather in the coming days, including snow

By Kylie Stevens For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 05:35 EST, 18 November 2018 | Updated: 06:06 EST, 18 November 2018

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Motorists have captured the extraordinary moment a freak tornado caused havoc in New Zealand, whipping up dirt and debris along the way.

Severe thunder and hailstorms sparked the rare weather event along South Island's east coast at around 4pm on Sunday, which was felt most in the Canterbury region.

There are currently no reports of damage.

Alesha Plew and her husband were driving along State Highway 1 near Ashburton, when they become within metres of flying debris from the tornado.

A rare tornado (pictured) caused havoc on New Zealand's South Island on Sunday

Her incredible footage of the chaos has since attracted more than 3300 shares on Facebook.

'North of Ashburton just now. Crazy weather,' Ms Plew posted.

She told The New Zealand Herald: 'While it looked dangerous, it didn't feel that way – it didn't feel like it was sucking us in, anyway. It was quite amazing… just to be looking up at it from so close… it was incredible.'

Alesha Plew and her husband were driving when they came within metres of flying debris

The tornado (pictured) was sparked by severe thunderstorms earlier in the afternoon

Alesha Plew shared her footage of the chaos on Facebook, which has since gone viral

James Busby was at his home in Mitcham, north of Ashburton, when he saw the tornado pick up debris, wood and anything else in its path on a neighbouring farm.

'It was a massive funnel ... a really big one, I've never seen anything like that in New Zealand before, about 40 or 50 metres wide,' he told Stuff.

'It was really sudden, the sky went all dark and the twister came through then suddenly it was all over and it died away as it moved off towards the sea.'

Residents captured footage of the tornado (pictured), which are rare in New Zealand

Earlier on Sunday, MetService New Zealand issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the Canterbury and Ontago regions.

'The current main risk is near Ashburton. Large hail detected between 20-30mm,' MetService New Zealand posted on Facebook.

NIWA Weather later tweeted: 'Observed lightning strikes suggest reported tornado in the Ashburton area was part of a thunderstorm ahead of the main cold front and thunderstorm activity. It's not unusual for discrete thunderstorms ahead of a main line to be capable of severe weather and tornadoes.'

MetService New Zealand had no current severe weather warnings on Sunday night.

The Kiwis can expect more unseasonal weather in the coming days.

There are no reports of damage from the tornado, despite the havoc it caused

'Most people can expect to see some rain over the next few days, however, snow is surprisingly the main focus of this event,' MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said in a statement.

'Considering we are at the end of spring and on the cusp of the summer months, snow is not something typically thought of at this point. While not unheard of, snow is uncommon this late into the year.'