Rare Tornado Kills 3 in New Zealand's Largest City An unusually destructive tornado swept through neighborhoods around New Zealand's largest city Thursday, killing three people and forcing 250 more to evacuate damaged and powerless homes. The small tornado hit Hobsonville and Whenuapai, western suburbs of Auckland, during a midday storm that also uprooted trees, damaged buildings and caused flooding that closed roads. The tornado was the deadliest in New Zealand in more than 60 years. Although the country reports about seven tornados on average each year, most are small, mild and do little damage. New Zealand's temperate maritime climate means it isn't prone to the large, destructive tornados that plague places like the American Midwest. Richard Turner, a meteorologist with New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), said New Zealand isn't prone to the intense surface heating that helps create the huge and violent tornados seen in the central United States. But he said even relatively small tornados like the one on Thursday can cause damage and death. Tornados in New Zealand are typically about 30 meters (100 feet) wide and last for only a few minutes. Daniel Corbett, a meteorologist with government forecaster MetService, said there had been some very warm, humid air "like soup" sitting over Auckland for several days before thunderstorms hit, creating the conditions for Thursday's tornado. He said he expected the weather system would move away from the country Thursday night. The tornado equaled the deadliest recorded in New Zealand's history. In 1948, three people were killed when a tornado hit a suburb in the city of Hamilton.