Scorching start to summer in Hawke's Bay

From left, Marley, 8, Danielle, 11, and Aalina Mataira, 10, all from Napier, cooling off in the sea at Westshore, Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor

Summer started with a bang in Hawke's Bay over the weekend with temperatures hitting the mid to high 20s, and the heat is set to continue through this week.

The conditions proved perfect for the Destination Hawke's Bay Downtown Festival yesterday, with punters seeking the shade, and at the Christmas Parade in Waipukurau on Saturday local firefighters turned on the hoses at Russell Park to help refresh those wilting in the mid-afternoon heat.

Parade co-organiser Shelly Birdsall said the temperature may have contributed to fewer visitors attending this year's event than previous years, which was held at 3pm to encourage families to join the festivities.

While the children enjoyed the cool, wet foam spray from the firefighters, as the afternoon progressed a thunderstorm hit with heavy rain, which had been a feature of the Hawke's Bay region's weather all week.

Conditions were set to stabilise this week though, said MetService meteorologist Ciaran Doolan.

"It's good news for the working week. The ridge of high pressure is set to persist until Friday, which means a continuation of warm, settled weather."

Hastings was one of the warmest spots in the country yesterday, reaching 27.7C in the early afternoon, a high of 26C was on the cards today, inching up to 28C

Across the region, morning cloud today and tomorrow would give way to sunny weather, with the possibility of isolated showers in the ranges, but otherwise fine.

Highs of 22C were predicted on Thursday with the possibility of showers, with skies clearing again on Friday.

Overall, he said the temperatures were slightly above average for this time of year.

For summer fruit growers the conditions had made for a good start to the season, according to the latest Summerfruit NZ market update.

The harvest in the Hawke's Bay region was about seven days ahead of last year, and although the weather had been changeable it was not a major concern for growers, and consumers would see some great fruit coming to the market.

For apricot lovers, the supply was expected to be steady for another two weeks, plenty of nectarines would be available leading up to Christmas, and peaches and plums were steadily coming on-stream.

Eyes to the skies

The clear conditions auger well to witness this year's last full moon tonight, which will appear larger and brighter than normal as it coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth.

This will be the first time such a "supermoon" has happened this year and the moon will be at its best when it appears above the horizon about 9pm.