Rotorua had its warmest April day for the past 50 years yesterday, as the mercury crept above 27C.
Rotorua weatherman Brian Holden said he had recorded a maximum temperature of 27.3C at his Springfield weather station.
The previous warmest April day was 25.2C in 2006.
"I double checked it," Mr Holden said.
"I thought it was a pretty warm day, and then I checked the April records as it doesn't usually get this warm in April. It probably won't get any warmer than this as the forecast looks like we could be getting some rain.
"As autumn creeps in it's going to get a bit cooler so this was our last chance for such a warm day.
"I think we've had a pretty good deal."
Mr Holden said the forthcoming weather was meant to "deteriorate".
"This could be the last beautiful, sparkling day we have for a while."