Cold relief by Friday

Snow on the foothills to the west of Hastings

Hawke's Bay residents were greeted to another chilly morning today, a trend that is set to continue until Friday.

The brisk introduction to winter will see temperatures plummet to freezing in some areas of the Bay tonight and tomorrow.

Layers will be needed to fend off the southwest chill that is set to move east this week.

MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said we should not expect anything "too drastic" over the coming days but temperatures were expected to drop to an icy 2C in Napier and Hastings tonight.

Ms Murray said the dousing of snow yesterday was a result of a low pressure system coming from the south and moving east.

"There are no more dumps expected as the low has moved away pushed by a westerly flow."

Although there is a ridge of high pressure over the country, the cold air is still around.

She said the weekend is expected to warm up a bit with temperatures set to reach 17C.

The southerly winds are going to shift to a northerly direction on Saturday.

Farmers are concerned the cold weather will set in and they will struggle to have enough feed for the winter.

Federated Farmers provincial president Will Foley said the cold snap was a concern for farmers particularly those east of Waipukurau.

"Farmers in that region struggled to get grass growth during the autumn dry.

"They have had no respite with the early snow fall and if this is going to be a trend for the coming three months it will be a very long winter," Mr Foley said.