Heavy rain watch issued for northern Hawke's Bay

A heavy rain watch is in place for parts of northern Hawke's Bay from 6am on Wednesday through until 3pm Thursday. Photo / MetService

A heavy rain watch is in place for parts of Hawke's Bay north of Napier.

MetService issued the watch the rain watch for between 6am on Wednesday through to 3pm on Thursday for areas north of the Napier-Taupō Rd.

The watch includes a forecast for periods of heavy rain and accumulations which may approach warning criteria.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said a low-pressure system forming off the North Island near the Bay of Plenty was drifting across the country.

This was driving strong south-easterly winds and "persistent rain" throughout parts of northern Hawke's Bay.

"The low-pressure system remains for quite a few days."

While last week was "incredibly hot", with record-breaking October highs, temperatures were set to drop this week, he said.

The region would see highs of about 23C on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature dropping to 14C on Wednesday.

"That looks to last for the next few days."

Ferris said temperatures would start to warm up again heading into the weekend.

He said it was unlikely at this stage that there would be a repeat of Friday's dramatic thunderstorm.