Hawke’s Bay weather: Short-lived shepherd’s delight with rain on the way

Sheep in a paddock framed by Wednesday evening’s sunset. Photo / Emma Davis

A stunning red sunset on Wednesday night in Hawke’s Bay lit up the sky and brought the heat on Thursday, but the shepherd’s delight might be short-lived with rain expected in the latter half of the weekend.

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said while Friday and Saturday could potentially bring showers in places, such as the Hawke’s Bay Mountain ranges, the majority of the region will likely be rain-free.

“The weekend starts off nice and summery, we’re expecting pretty settled weather,” she said

“Looking at the temperatures for the duration of the weekend, we’re looking at places reaching the mid to upper 20s.”

However, things are set to take a turn on Sunday with a large frontal weather system bringing rain for most of the country.

“That reaches Hawke’s Bay during the latter part of Sunday. As the day goes on, we will start to see a bit of a turn to that weather.”

Makgabutlane said whether the region experiences more stunning sunsets depends on cloud conditions.

“It’s usually a very thin high cloud that brings those brilliant sunsets,” she said.

“This past week we had quite a stream of moisture and lots of high cloud over the North Island which is probably what led to the sunsets.”

Last week saw a spattering of rain hit the region, with Napier on the cusp of breaking its all-time rainfall record.

As of Monday, the total stood at 1315.4 mm of rain, making 2023 the year with the third highest totals since 1879.