Weather: Settled skies bring frosty temperatures to Hawke's Bay

A fisherman ignores the chilly temperatures and enjoys the sunshine at the Waitangi reserve near Clive. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay will get a dose of sunshine for the rest of the week, but the icy temperatures are set to remain.

Hot-water bottles, electric blankets and hot chocolates are a must as overnight lows are going to hit -1C by the end of the week.

Hastings experienced a high of 13C today and will have to withstand a chilly 2C tonight.

The settled weather is set to remain for the rest of the week, with Thursday allowing sunny skies, a high of 13C and an overnight low of 0.

Friday's weather will be much the same, with a warmer overnight low of 4C, while Saturday's overnight low will be -1C.

Metservice Meteorologist Andrew James said although the shortest day had passed, winter was definitely here.

"This south-westerly flow is bringing quite low temperatures," he said.

"Behind this flow is a high-pressure system which will clear out the skies, the weather is going to be very settled, but with that, the temperatures will remain quite low."

Drivers were urged to take care on the roads, particularly if they were driving the Napier-Taupo Rd or the Desert Rd.

"The Central Plateau will experience snowfall, dropping to about 500 metres, so both the Desert Rd and Napier-Taupo Rd will have snow and ice," MetService meteorologist Mark Bowe said.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) said the climate over winter had generally been warmer than the average temperatures around New Zealand in recent weeks, but a distinct cool-down was has been widely noticed around the country.

The colder air was driven by high pressure arriving from the Tasman Sea, which would result in clear skies and calm at night.

Some will be relieved to see sunny skies over the coming week as Hawke's Bay reached its quota for rainfall by June 12.

A total of 90mm of rain fell in the Kaweka Range during the severe weather event earlier this month.

The New Zealand Transport Agency was reminding drivers to stay safe on the roads, especially if they were driving through snow and ice.

NZTA communications manager Dan Parker said it was important to keep at a safe distance and drive to the conditions.

"Drive at a safe travelling distance because it takes longer to stop on slippery roads. In winter, especially in poor weather, double the two-second rule and leave a safe distance between you and the car you're following," he said.