Hawke's Bay rain set to continue until Thursday

Rain every day last week is set to continue until Thursday this week. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay enters its eighth day of rain today, bringing some relief to farmers.

MetService meterologist Rob Kerr said the last dry day Hawke's Bay had was July 12. The next dry day is likely to be either this Thursday or Friday.

That's a full week of rain so far and it has been great for farmers, although they are hoping for a bit of sunshine soon, Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay President Jim Galloway said.

The rain was the heaviest out in the ranges measuring 151mm in 48 hours at the Parks Peak testing station – near the north of the Ruahine Range.

Ongoing rain since the start of the week has made parts of the Bay particularly damp. Photo / Paul Taylor

In Hastings there had been 27.8mm of rain in the past 48 hours and in Napier 29mm Kerr said. At some points in the day it got to 3 or 4mm per hour – nearing the criteria for heavy.

The rain paired with the still relatively warm temperatures has been great for grass growth, Galloway said.

"It's growing better than it does normally at this time of year which is going to be a saviour for some."

Farmers are looking forward to a bit of sunshine this week, likely to come on Thursday or Friday, as stock and farmers alike like a bit of sun, Galloway said.

The rain is set to continue on Monday with a mostly cloudy day and showers.

On Tuesday rain will develop again later in the afternoon as northeasterlies change to northwest and a band of rain enters the region.

Wednesday the weather will begin to fine up with northwesterlies but there will be a few showers with a brief southwest change.

Rain will continue to be the heaviest in the ranges, but throughout the region is unlikely to be as bad as last week.

Kerr suspects the next dry day may be Thursday but Friday is "much more likely."

"If it's not dry on Thursday, it will be on Friday."