Hawke's Bay's reputation for throwing up a fine weekend when just about everyone else is copping it has suffered barely a dent as a result of the Thursday night which scrapped many people's holiday plans.
The weekend opened with Hawke's Bay blessed by fine, fresh northerlies which brought mid-afternoon mid-20s temperatures, Hastings' peak of about 24 degrees likely to be the nationwide high for the day, in contrast to Napier and Hastings rainfall of about 25mm the previous day and the Thursday-night winds which peaked at more than 150km/h.
Forecasts showed mainly fine weather, with some cloud, and a possibility of some rain on Monday.
Metservice duty meteorologist Rob Kerr said the storm in Hawke's Bay had been considered a possibility as staff tracked Cyclone Cook, with limited certainty about what would have happened after its landfall, heading south into Bay of Plenty - "when we could look into the white of its eyes".
"By the time it made landfall the central pressure was slightly higher than anticipated and as a result it took an eastward track," he said.