Hot weather for Hawke’s Bay’s big event month of February

The Hawke's Bay Sports Fishing Club is gearing up for the annual Megafish competition, with over 100 boats and 400 rods entered. It starts on Wednesday and ends on Saturday.

More temperatures expected to pass 30C are in store for one of Hawke’s Bay’s biggest months of the year, as events are expected to draw thousands of visitors.

While there is no Mission Concert, for the second summer in a row, there are big drawcards in the Warriors-Manly NRL pre-season rugby league match on February 14, with an expected gate of over 10,000 fans at McLean Park, Napier, and the Napier Art Deco Festival on February 19-20.

Major events kick off this week with the Hawke’s Bay Sports Fishing Club’s annual Megafish from Wednesday to Saturday, with over 100 boats and 400 rods entered, and with Waitangi Day events on Friday.

Another event is the Waipukurau Jockey Club’s races on February 15, including the Wairoa Cup, only the second race meeting in Hawke’s Bay since the October 2024 closure of the Hastings racecourse for track repairs.

In November, Waipukurau had possibly its biggest-ever crowd for a race meeting, the first of three days’ racing in town ahead of the reopening of the Hastings course for the Hawke’s Bay Spring Racing Carnival.

The Port of Napier will have 13 cruise stops in February, estimated to bring more than 25,000 people into the region on mainly short visits lasting just a few hours.

There will also be historical reflection, as the 95th anniversary of the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake is marked tomorrow.

February 14 is the third anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The month has started well weather-wise. Fine weather is forecast throughout this week, which on Saturday includes the anniversary of New Zealand’s reputed hottest day, on February 7, 1973, when temperatures soared past 40C.

A high of 32C is forecast for Monday, but according to MetService the temperature in Hastings about 2.30pm was 33.1C, the hottest on its network.

Temperatures are also forecast to hit 30C during the Waitangi Day holiday weekend.

Hawke’s Bay has this summer already recored some of its highest temperatures in more than 60 years of comparable statistics: a 60-year record for Hastings in November and a peak 36C in Napier on January 11.

Meanwhile, there have been regular catches of bluefin, yellowfin, and marlin in the waters of Hawke Bay in recent weeks, and fishers are hoping the catches continue this week for Megafish 2026.

Doug Laing has more than 50 years’ experience in the news industry. He has been based in Napier since 1987, firstly with the Daily Telegraph and then with Hawke’s Bay Today, since its establishment in 1999.