Hawke’s Bay weather: ‘Settled’ week on the way after wind gusts down trees and cut power

Wind gusts are set to ease around Hawke’s Bay into Wednesday after reaching more than 100km/h in some places on Monday night, downing trees, cutting power, and sending recycling bins flying.

A strong wind-watch was in place for most of Monday night as MetService warned of stormy weather and heightened wind speeds.

“Between 6-9pm was when the strongest wind moved through,” MetService meteorologist Thapi Makgabutlane said.

Some of the highest windspeeds were recorded at Cape Kidnappers, which reached about 110km/h.

“Although it’s quite exposed out there, it really captures the magnitudes of those winds,” Makgabutlane said.

“In Māhia, it was around 105km/h, and then in Takapau Plains, it reached over 90km/h.”

Windy, stormy weather rolls in over Pōrangahau on Monday. Photo / Helen Stoddart

A Unison spokesperson said crews worked hard to restore power to more than 1000 customers impacted by outages on its Hawke’s Bay network, with most connections restored within hours.

As of Tuesday at noon, six customers remained without power in the Pohokura area, and crews were using a helicopter to resolve the issues.

“A number of the outages overnight were caused by trees being blown onto or falling across power lines. Trees cause around 20% of the unplanned outages on our network, and we rely on tree owners to keep vegetation away from network electricity lines to prevent outages,” a Unison spokesperson said.

“We encourage customers to learn more about the danger of vegetation near power lines and to ensure trees are at least 4m from any power lines.”

A Hastings District Council spokesperson said there were six callouts for trees down across roads that crews were finishing clearing on Tuesday.

“We are also aware of a big tree down at Akina Park, and others around Flaxmere parks, one at Ron Giorgi III Park.”

Three trees were also blown down across Central Hawke’s Bay, with a spokesperson confirming they were “quickly cleared” from the roads.

Napier City Council reported no major issues, and there was only a minor road disturbance in Wairoa.

“Initial reports indicated four roads had been impacted by eight to 10 fallen trees. Two of these roads have been opened, and crews are on site opening the two other roads,” a Wairoa District Council spokesperson said on Tuesday.

A swell warning was also in place for some coastal areas overnight.

“Currently, the highest wave heights are close to 3m and rising, and the highest waves are expected around high tide,” Makgabutlane said.

“It looks like we are still expecting some swell conditions this week, maybe not quite as high as they have been.”

A south-westerly flow was still apparent on Tuesday, bringing slight breezes, but Makgabutlane said it was likely to ease up through the week.

“Those winds look like they die right off, so there are some nice light winds to look forward to.”

Rain and a low-pressure system are expected to arrive at the weekend, so the advice was to make the most of the outdoors before then.

“For the rest of the week, we are seeing fairly settled weather conditions. We might see showers in the ranges starting around Friday, but for the bulk of the Hawke’s Bay region, it’s looking pretty settled.”

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community.