High winds gusting to 83km/h in Napier yesterday gave way to calm cold conditions later in the evening, seeing Hawke's Bay wake to a stunning clear day this morning, and in places to the sound of frost-fighting helicopters.
The high winds eased last night and about 1am todaythe temperature dropped considerably, putting vineyards and orchards on frost alert.
Metservice forecaster Paul Bruce said a cold southerly air flow drifted through the region, taking the air temperature in Hastings to -1degC and in Napier and Takapau to 2degC with ground temperatures two or three degrees lower.
Mr Bruce said there would have been many cold pockets around the Bay overnight.
"Inland, a lot of places would have been below zero," he said.
Lisa Daysh, of Bridge Pa Vineyards, said their frost protection system, an overhead sprinkler that froze on leaves, holding in the heat captured during the day, went on about 1am. But despite the high winds, the temperature drop had been forecast.
Vaughan Nairn of Helicopters Hawke's Bay said 27 choppers from that company were out overnight, but the frost was not "too disastrous".
Helicopters were out for between one and four hours, and he was not anticipating being called out in the next few days.
Mr Bruce said an active front was due to hit the country today, bringing more wind for the next few days, but not as strong as the last couple of days.
