Ex-Cyclone Cook churned through the Bay of Plenty across Thursday afternoon. The deep air pressure out at sea is a bit like dropping a rock in a pond – it sends ripples outwards and in the case of a cyclone it creates huge building swells.

This video shows the rough beach conditions at one of New Zealand’s most popular beaches and the weather that blew through the region late afternoon/early evening. The storm missed badly hitting this particular area, although it made for very dangerous beach conditions.

Footage shows Cyclone Cook’s 4 hour visit to The Mount in Tauranga, New Zealand on Thursday 13th April 2017 from 3:30pm-7:30pm.

Thanks to Rosalie Liddle Crawford & Anna Garmash