Fine days but turning chilly next week

Hawke's Bay's snow-capped ranges will be visible today and tomorrow - the days with the week's best weather. Photo / Warren Buckland

Today and tomorrow are the best days of the week, with brilliant skies following frosty starts.

Next week will see a return to chilly southerly winds. "Wednesday is a fine-looking day with winds not as cutting as Tuesday," Metservice meteorologist John Law said.

"The plus side of these cold nights is the clear conditions and light winds.

"It's a cold start but the sun should come through nicely."

Expect another frosty start to tomorrow but towards the end of the day high cloud is due, as wet weather makes its way up the country. A north-westerly wind will develop throughout the region into Friday.

There was a plus side to losing sunny skies.

"It should mean our temperatures won't be nearly as cold.

As we head towards the weekend more wet weather pushes across the country, including Hawke's Bay. Friday's westerlies will strengthen and cloud increase, bringing rain.

Have wet weather gear at hand for the weekend - Saturday and Sunday will be showers or spells of rain.

The rain will be welcomed by farmers worried by seasonally-low soil moisture levels.

"Everyone wants to see a decent recharge for that water underground and we are just not getting it - not yet anyway," Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay president Will Foley said.

"It's pretty cold at the moment so it is probably not going to be overly limiting to pasture growth, but as soon as it starts warming up on the drier country - and certainly in August - we will be starting to get a bit worried."

Hawke's Bay had a drier-than-normal autumn, and rain levels are below average for June.