Heat alerts are on the way and authorities are preparing for packed beaches and an extreme fire risk in at least one region as a summer scorcher drags temperatures into the high 30s.
Hot air sweeping across the Tasman from Australia is due Friday, with highs in the 30s for several eastern and northern areas then continuing through the weekend, culminating in a top of 37C forecast for Hastings on Sunday.
Parts of Northland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, Wairarapa, Marlborough and Canterbury were also pipped to reach or top 30C in the three days to Sunday, while others – including Auckland and Waikato – would be warmer than average, MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said.
“It’s going to be hot across the board really. The only places which miss those really hot temperatures are the West Coast of the South Island, because they’re going to be rained on, and the bottom of the South Island.”
Both Fire and Emergency NZ and Surf Life Saving NZ are preparing for the mid-summer heat-spike, with a worrying fire risk in Hawke’s Bay – where strong northwesterlies are forecast on Sunday – and an afternoon low tide on Auckland’s popular West Coast beaches both likely to spur a busy weekend.
Blazing hot temperatures and strong winds coupled with deceptively dry vegetation had firefighters in his region preparing for potential “spike” risk days this weekend, Fire and Emergency Hawke’s Bay assistant fire commander Jason Hill said.
“We’re really concerned about the Napier-Heretaunga [Hastings] area and going right through to Central Hawke’s Bay and northern Te Rerenga areas … there’s an extremely high potential that if any fire breaks out it could be quite serious and extremely fast-moving and fast spreading.”
The Hawke’s Bay public were being “a little bit fooled” by the green tinge from rain before New Year’s Eve, but there was a lot of dry grass and scrub around, Hill said.
“There’s a high chance that any fire that breaks out across the weekend could be extremely difficult to control.”
The public could help by calling 111 if they saw smoke, keeping driveways and accessways clear for emergency vehicles and minimising the use of “anything that could create a spark”, such as welders, grinders or lawnmowers, he said.
“We don’t want people mowing short grass … just the steel blade of a lawn mower striking a stone is enough to create a spark, and in dry conditions that could ignite a fire.”
Fireworks were also banned in parts of Hawke’s Bay and other regions, and he encouraged all Kiwis to use the nationwide www.checkitsalright.nz website.
“You type in what you’d like to do, whether it be a hāngī or a brazier or outdoor burning, put in your address and it will tell you whether you can light a fire, whether you’ll need a permit or not.”
Planning for the end-of-week heat was likely taking place across high-risk parts of the country, and was well underway in his region, including making sure an incident management team and resources outside Hawke’s Bay were available if needed, Hill said.
“We’ll have messaging out to the public as well to remind them what they can and can’t do, and above all else to call 111 if they see any smoke.”
Wotherspoon said MetService was likely to issue heat alerts in parts of the country’s east a day or two before the hot weather arrived from Australia, where local media are describing a forecast heatwave as the worst since the deadly 2019/2020 “Black Summer” bushfire season – and with temperatures in the high 40s expected for some.
“It’s going to be hot”, Wotherspoon said of New Zealand’s own warm end of the week.
“So make sure you’re not spending the whole day in the sun unless you’ve got a lot of water and sun protection.
“And make sure pets also have plenty of water and shade, and if you’re taking them out on a walk, check out how hot the concrete is – because if you can’t touch it comfortably, then pets also can’t walk on it comfortably.”
As well as Hastings’ forecast of 33C on Friday, 35C on Saturday and 37C on Sunday, Napier was expecting twin 33C days on Friday and Saturday, and 35C on Sunday, the meteorologist said.
“The [January] average for Napier is 24.6C and Hastings is 25.3C.”
Blenheim was also expecting three 30C-plus days during the summer sizzler, including 33C on Friday, Wotherspoon said.
“That’s eight degrees above their average January high, so that’ll be an especially hot day for them.”
In Christchurch there would be two 30C or higher days, and one each in Whangārei, Tauranga, Masterton, Ashburton and Timaru.
In Auckland and Hamilton, the weekend temperatures are forecast to reach the mid to high 20s, she said.
With water temperatures also around 21C to 22C in the upper North Island, they were expecting another busy weekend at popular beaches, Surf Life Saving New Zealand general manager Chris Emmett said.
Low tide on Auckland’s West Coast beaches this weekend was in the afternoon heat peak, and with low tide tending to “make rips pull a little harder” and a moderate swell of one to two metres lifeguards could be busy.
“So, we are making plans, and our lifeguards always evaluate and react accordingly … they know their beaches very well.
“They generally plan for the lower tides and we can bring in extra guards during those times … we generally have quite full patrols at this time of year.”
Anyone swimming outside patrol hours or at unpatrolled beaches must know their limits and understand the conditions, Emmett said.
“Our five key safety messages that everyone needs to learn is know how to float, find the safest place to swim - and if in doubt, stay out - take care of yourself and others, and know how to get help.”
If caught in a rip, relax, float and conserve energy, raise your hand and signal for help, and then ride the rip until it stopped or you could swim parallel to the shore to escape, Emmett said.
“Never try and swim directly against the rip … it’s faster than a normal person can swim against it.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand had 90 patrolled locations around New Zealand and he encouraged swimmers to seek those out and swim between the red and yellow flags.
“Even if it’s an extra 10 minutes walk from where you are, that makes real sense at this time of the year.
“We like to see people go to the beach, enjoy the beach and go home safely.”