By JO-MARIE BAKER A record 31C was recorded in Tauranga yesterday - the hottest temperature so far this year. The measurement, taken by Tauranga City Council's weather station at Chapel St, was one degree hotter than the official temperature of 30C recorded at Tauranga Airport by the MetService. And the hot, sticky heatwave which has settled over the Western Bay doesn't look like budging anytime soon, with weather forecasters saying the hottest days of the year are still to come. Early February is traditionally the warmest part of summer said MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt. According to the MetService, the temperature reached 30C in Tauranga Airport at 3pm, and fell to just 18C overnight. By 7am this morning it was still 18C at Tauranga Airport's weatherstation, with 85 per cent humidity. It will be a similar story for the rest of this week, with 24C predicted to be the daily high, with light winds and cloud. Prior to yesterday, the hottest day recorded in Tauranga this month was on January 15 when 30.7C was registered. A tiny 0.1mm of rain fell on Monday, while 3.8mm fell on Sunday, bringing the total to 13.4mm so far this year. A few weak fronts could bring rain or drizzle to the south and west of the South Island this week. "That's about it. The high pressures are continuing to keep the significant rain away," said McDavitt.
