Strong winds, warm temps: Hawke’s Bay braces for westerly gusts

Batten down the hatches and take off a layer of clothes ahead of the warm westerly wind heading to Hawke’s Bay.

MetService has issued a strong-wind watch for Hawke’s Bay south of Napier, the Tararua District, and Wairarapa north of Martinborough from 6am to 8pm Friday, with northwest winds potentially approaching severe gales in exposed places.

MetService meteorologist John Law said the westerly winds will blow across the North Island and then come down from the hills and ranges on towards places like the Takapau Plains and the southern parts of Hawke’s Bay.

“It looks like a windy story for you as we head through Friday, but probably through the weekend you’ll keep hold of some pretty brisk west to northwesterly winds.”

But all is not lost for the weekend.

Law said the westerly wind direction is great for Hawke’s Bay’s temperatures thanks to the Foehn effect, a warm downslope wind in the lee of a mountain range.

The name has been adopted in New Zealand to describe the strong nor’wester which frequently blows from Hawke’s Bay to south Otago.

“For the weekend, it’s still very warm, but I think what we really notice will be really warm nighttime temperatures.

“But it’s worth saying, I think as we head towards next week, we might find our temperatures take a bit of a turn.”

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.