Rain on way but more needed

This rainbow appeared over a dry paddock off State Highway 2 near Clive yesterday. Photo / Paul Taylor

Dry grass throughout the region got a much-needed drink overnight - but not enough to resurrect lush pastures.

Thunderstorms were expected to deliver targeted heavy downpours and possibly hail in isolated areas with a similar forecast for this evening, though temperatures were set to remain in the low to mid 20s.

"We are expecting scattered showers throughout the Hawke's Bay region today, we are also expecting some afternoon and evening thunderstorms south of Napier," MetService meteorologist Hannah Moes said.

"Weather will clear during Thursday from the south, with Friday and Saturday looking like they will be dry."

Crops may get some benefit from brief periods of rain, but would barely scratch the surface in areas where the ground had hardened, Hawke's Bay Federated Farmers president Will Foley said.

Despite a dry summer there was no widespread panic about a lack of rain yet, as it was fairly common for the region.

"At the moment most farmers are accepting it as normal for this time of year; even if we didn't get any rain until the end of February it would be okay," Mr Foley said.

East Coast Rural Support Trust Hawke's Bay regional director Dick Kingston, who took on his position late in 2013, said much had been learned from the drought which occurred that year, on top of Hawke's Bay's driest six-month period in half a century.

Nothing on the scale of that drought, the widest-felt in New Zealand in about 70 years, was expected this year and Mr Kingston said it was hoped most farmers would cope.

The important thing was to be prepared for an "adverse" event. While agencies met yesterday in civil defence roles, no joint-agency meetings have yet taken place regarding potential drought in Hawke's Bay.

Early December rain was seen as an important factor in staving off drought in the Bay this summer.

Mr Kingston, who had just returned from Southland, said the December rain made the difference, compared with Canterbury and North Otago.

"It's not looking flash," he said of the situation in the south.

Canterbury and North Otago were visited yesterday by Primary Industries minister Nathan Guy, who met farming and community leaders in a preliminary phase to assess the prospects.

Similar meetings in Hawke's Bay in early March 2013 preceded the declaration of "medium drought event" status for Hawke's Bay, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, the Coromandel and South Auckland.

That ministerial declaration opened the door to drought-relief funding.

For grape growers, the hot, dry conditions were optimal. Short periods of rain, while the fruit was still green, were not seen as harmful.

"At the moment it's not a problem ... ideally we are going to want dry conditions through vintage when we pick the grapes; we will start doing that at the end of February to early May," Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Association spokesman James Medina said.

Dannevirke residents were without water for a different reason this week, due to a plumbing issue which caused the town to switch to a secondary water supply while pipes were re-pressurised.

A complete hosing ban was now in place for Dannevirke and the Tararua District, while residents were encouraged to think seriously about conserving water, including avoiding the use of washing machines for the next 48 hours.