Megan McCarty, from Monte Gelato, will make more than 50 four-litre tubs of gelato and sorbet a day this weekend. Photo / Andrew Warner
Megan McCarty, from Monte Gelato, will make more than 50 four-litre tubs of gelato and sorbet a day this weekend. Photo / Andrew Warner
Litres of sunblock and 50 tubs of gelato are just some of the ways the Bay of Plenty region is gearing up for the scorching weekend ahead.
As a tropical heatwave rolls over from the north, the region could expect highs up to 32C over the next five days.
MetServicemeteorologist Tom Adams said a combination of minimal winds, a humid air mass and high pressure meant the next few days were set to be hot.
A slab of humid air from Australia and the tropics was forecast to roll in this weekend, pushing Bay temperatures through the roof.
Areas of the region with more exposure to the northwesterly winds, such as the Pāpāmoa Hills and Whakatāne, would have the hottest temperatures, he said.
Following the hot days will, unfortunately, be hot nights.
Adams said night temperatures across the Bay of Plenty were sitting in the mid- to late-teens. Anything around 20C was not an ideal sleeping temperature for most people.
The scorching temperatures were set to stick around until next Wednesday when the heating dial will turn down a notch.
From today until Tuesday, Tauranga was expecting highs ranging from 30C to 32C.
The weekend was looking like a pearler for many across the city.
Patrol captain from the Mount Maunganui lifeguard service Vivien Conway said lifeguards planned to hit the sand bright and early this weekend to have everything set up before the masses arrived.
The scorching temperatures are set to stick around until next Wednesday. Photo / File
Flags would be up by 10am and sunscreen would be doing the rounds all day, she said.
Many businesses were gearing up for a busy weekend as hot temperatures rolled in.
Megan McCarty, from Monte Gelato, said she would be making more than 50 four-litre tubs of gelato and sorbet a day this weekend to keep up with demand.
This would be about 1500 scoops of ice cream a day as one tub was about 31 scoops, she said.
The popular gelato shop was situated across the road from Mount Maunganui Beach and had already had a cracker summer season as temperatures rose.
Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty president Darryl Jensen said the "summer dry was starting to bite" and things were getting tough for farmers at the moment.
Minimal rainfall and high temperatures meant many farmers were having to put systems in place to feed the demand that was a lot greater than supply, he said.
Niwa had forecast no substantial rainfall in the coming weeks, with Jensen saying drought conditions could be on the doorstep soon.
"Regardless of whether you believe in climate change or not, things are changing."
He said farmers were experiencing major variability and extremes from long hot and dry conditions to excessively wet periods were becoming common.
Building resilient communities in this time was front of mind for many farming organisations, he said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand Pumicelands principal rural fire officer Steve Webb said the fire danger across the Bay of Plenty was "extreme" and warned something as simple as mowing the lawn could spark a serious fire.
Webb said a complete fire ban will be put in place at the beginning of next week.
The last time a fire ban was put in place was February, but the ban this year was earlier due to the conditions, he said.
People needed to practise extra caution at the hottest points of the day and also consider whether there was a breeze that could spread a fire quickly.
FORECAST:
Tauranga
Today : Mainly fine, but a few showers possible this afternoon. Westerlies. High of 31C, low of 18C.
Tomorrow: Fine and hot. Westerlies. High of 32C, low of 18C.
Sunday: Fine and warm. Westerlies and afternoon sea breezes. High of 30C, low of 19C.
