Hawke’s Bay weather: Temperatures hit 28C in Napier and Hastings, could be hotter Saturday

Hawke’s Bay is experiencing the upper side of seasonal extremes as temperatures hit 28C in Napier and Hastings, less than 24 hours after up to 30mm of rain fell in Central Hawke’s Bay.

Napier on Thursday afternoon as temperatures hit 28-29C in the twin cities of Hawke's Bay. Photo / Doug Laing.

Temperatures up to 29C had been forecast for Friday and 30C for Saturday, while Thursday’s rain came after weather agency MetService had issued a mid-afternoon “severe thunderstorm warning”.

Omakere farmer Mark Warren conjectured, on social media, that the rain on his property was worth $50,000 in productivity per inch (25.4mm), while Tararua farmer Simon Collin told Hawke’s Bay Today his gauge had seen 40mm since Friday.

“We’ve had a bit,” he said, noting some farmers are worried after lower-than-average rainfall since mid-winter.

“It’s nice to see the rain.”

A MetService forecaster said there was about 30mm in an hour from 2pm to 3pm on Thursday in an area east of Waipukurau, 22mm was recorded at Mangaorapa, near Porangahau, and 39mm had been recorded in the ranges to the west.

Showers and rain are forecast across the North Island, including Hawke’s Bay, for much of next week.

While Hawke’s Bay hasn’t yet seen the extremes of past summers, it has seen some unusual highs, including a nationwide June record temperature in Hastings of 25.7C.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.