Hawke's Bay cold blast: Driver caution advised on Napier-Taihape road

Snow beginning to thaw on the ranges. Photo / Warren Buckland

"A settled stretch of weather."

They're five words likely to make Hawke's Bay residents heave a sigh of relief after a wet, windy, snowy start to the week.

MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said the cooler southerly flow which has plagued the region along with the rest of the country these past few days will ease for the next couple of days.

"Hawke's Bay can expect a settled stretch of weather for the next couple of days. Showers can be expected in Wairoa and the coastal parts of the region on Thursday, but they will clear away in the evening," he said.

"Napier and Hastings will dodge the wet weather."

The remainder of the week is expected to be mostly dry, with a little bit of cloud hanging around.

"A little bit of cloud wil stop the temperatures from plunging into freezing."

Temperatures are expected to stay at the 14C to 15C mark in both cities for the rest of the week with overnight lows hovering around 4C to 6C.

On Wednesday at 2pm the Taihape-Napier road reopened, following a closure on June 28 at 4pm due to snow and cold conditions.

The Rangitikei District Council continued to advise driver caution due to uncertain weather conditions.

On Wednesday overnight lows were set to be balmy and MetService meteorologist Amy Rossiter said overnight lows on Tuesday in Napier and Hastings were not too bad either, staying between 5.5C and 6C, ensuring the snow had mostly cleared by Wednesday morning.

The lowest overnight low was in Te Haroto with temperatures dipping to 0.5C.