Bay of Plenty forecast shows wet week for school holidays but plenty of inside activities for kids

The second week of the school holidays is looking wet for the Bay of Plenty but temperatures are warmer than usual for this time of year, a meteorologist says.

MetService meteorologist April Clark said the forecast showed it would be partly cloudy with isolated showers today, tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday.

She said north-easterly winds were “sticking in” in the Bay of Plenty.

“It really is fairly unchanging as we head into the early part of the week.”

Clark said “significant” rainfall was not expected, however, “unsettled” weather was expected towards the end of the week.

“It does look like it starts to break down and we do have low pressure moving over the upper North Island as well ... it does look like it’s tending to be wetter ... looking into Friday.

“Unfortunately, the last part of the school holidays is probably looking a little bit wetter for the Bay of Plenty area but not so bad during most of the working week next week.”

Clark said temperatures in the low 20s were expected in Tauranga and Whakatāne. In Rotorua, temperatures were forecast to be in the high teens, with 18 degrees today and tomorrow.

Clark said with the cloud and northeast flow, the overnight temperatures were “fairly warm” for this time of year.

“The overnight lows for Tauranga are 17 [degrees] most of the week. The usual overnight low is about 12 degrees for April.”

“It’s just because, with that cloud around, it sort of acts a little bit like a blanket at night.

“Instead of radiating out heat, the cloud sends it back down.”

Rotorua was also expected to have warmer than usual overnight temperatures, she said.

There are several indoor school holiday events this week across Tauranga and Rotorua.

In Tauranga, a family movie would be screened at Greerton Library between 1.30pm and 3pm on Wednesday. No registration was required and accompanying adults were required to stay for the show.

Movie-goers were asked to bring a cushion, blanket or beanbag and some snacks.

Greerton Library was also hosting a craft day where people could bring their imaginary friend to life using dough and other materials from 10.30am. Pāpāmoa Library was hosting the same session on Thursday, also from 10.30am.

There were a number of other activities across the city hosted by Tauranga City Libraries with more information available online.

Rotorua Library was also hosting numerous activities this week, some were free while others required a donation or payment, with details online.

A free activity takes place tomorrow, with children encouraged to bring their teddy bear - or favourite soft toy - in for some stories, music and dancing from 10.30am to 11.30am.

On Thursday, there was a paper mosaic activity suitable for those aged five and older to create their own autumn-themed mosaic to take home and display. A koha [donation] was appreciated.