Hawke's Bay to see a wet, cold start to the week

Hawke's Bay's wet and wild start to September is here to stay for several days, but by the end of the week the sun is expected to make an appearance.

MetService Metrologist Peter Little said the cold, wet weather from Sunday is set to continue on Monday and Tuesday.

"Things do gradually start to ease on Tuesday though, so on Wednesday we basically start to see the weather clearing up."

On Monday, Hastings is expected see a high of 9C, Napier slightly warmer at 10C, with rain throughout the day.

On Tuesday, Hastings will see a high of 11C and Napier 12C.

He said rain would be on and off throughout the day.

"It will obviously be good for people's gardens, it'll help with that spring growth, when the temperatures start to warm up again.

"It will be up to 15C Wednesday and Thursday 17C, which is more what you are accustomed too."

He said they are predicting a high of 20C for Napier on Friday.

He said dramatic swings in temperatures are common for spring.

"Being springtime, often we see bigger swings in temperatures, so you often have warm, northwesterly days, and then all of a sudden the temperature can drop with a colder southerly and rain, and a few days later it can be back to the hot northwesterly."

Hawke's Bay is not the only region to be seeing grey skies overhead.

Little said much of the country from Hawke's Bay southwards is experiencing cold weather and southerly winds.

"It's quite cloudy."

For the North Island most of the rain is centred over Hawke's Bay and Manawatu.

"Further north, there are actually northwest winds, which are much warmer."

He said people with travel plans over the next couple of days should keep an eye on the Napier-Taupo Road.

Currently there is a road snowfall warning in force.

"We're expecting snow from Monday afternoon to early Tuesday, so 5pm Monday to 4am Tuesday.

"We could see 2-5cm accumulating above 700m and lesser amounts down to 600m."