HIGHBURY CHEMIST OUT OF PANADOL 48 HOURS BEFORE FORECAST DRIZZLE, SOURCES CONFIRM

The Unichem on Highbury's main strip ran out of Panadol on Tuesday afternoon, roughly 48 hours before MetService issued a moderate rain warning for the lower North Island. Multiple sources who spoke to The Daily Yarn on condition of anonymity say the shelves were stripped before the front had even crossed the Tasman.

"I came in for one packet. One," said Denise Kohu, 44, who was still standing in the analgesics aisle when this reporter arrived. "There's a woman down the end with what looked like a shopping basket of Nurofen and a haunted expression. Nobody's saying anything. It's like a silent auction."

"It's like a silent auction. Nobody's saying anything."

A second source, a pharmacy assistant who asked not to be named because she "still has to work Thursday", said the run began Monday morning. "One bloke bought twelve packets. Said it was for his mother. His mother lives in Feilding. I know because he told me. Twice."

What we know: The Unichem is out of Panadol, Panadol Rapid, Panadol Extra, and the yellow one for kids. Pams-brand paracetamol remains available but is being treated by shoppers as "a last resort, basically Communist". MetService has forecast 4mm of rain and gusts of up to 35km/h.

What we don't know: Why a city built on a plain famous for wind and drizzle continues to treat weather as a novel event. Whether the twelve-packet man's mother exists. Where the Panadol has gone. Whether Feilding is also out.

A Unichem spokesperson said stock would be replenished "in the coming days" and that customers should "consider whether they actually have a headache or are just anticipating one". The Daily Yarn has approached MetService for comment.