Hawke's Bay freeze pinpointed as cause of at least one crash as temperatures sink to -3.5C

A frosty start to a Tuesday morning in an apple orchard near Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

An icy road has been pinpointed as a factor in one of two crashes on Hawke's Bay roads early on Tuesday.

The crashes, both involving trucks and with one person being taken to hospital from each incident, happened within 30 minutes with temperatures throughout Hawke's Bay were still below 0 degrees Celsius for the second morning in a row.

The first, involving a logging truck which lost its load on State Highway 2 near Kotemaori was reported to emergency services at just after 7am. The driver was airlifted by Hawke's Bay Rescue Helicopter from the scene near Haliburton Rd and taken to hospital with moderate injuries.

The southbound lane was blocked and contractors were called to unblock it.

It wasn't too cold for Rose Foster with dog Java as they walked in Ebbett Park, Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

The second involved a car and a truck which collided near the Patangata Bridge in Central Hawke's Bay about 7.30am.

Constable Andy Walker, of the CHB Police, said the Elsthorpe Rd crash was due to a vehicle hitting ice while travelling downhill towards the bridge.

The vehicle slid out and hit a light truck which was travelling in the opposite direction.

One person was transported via ambulance to Hawke's Bay Hospital, for observation, Walker said.

MetService reported overnight minimum weather station temperatures in Hawke's Bay on Tuesday morning ranged from -3.5C on the Takapau Plains, between Waipukurau and Dannevirke, to -1C at Hawke's Bay Airport.

The low in Hastings was -1.8C in the hour to 5am, in Napier city it dropped to -1.4C in the hour to 4am, and the overnight low in Wairoa was 0.7C.

The frosts were similar to those of the previous 24 hours, and a MetService spokesperson said it may have felt colder because of more moisture being in the air.

A radical change was expected overnight Tuesday and Wednesday, with unusually warm early July temperatures forecast to be no lower the 10C in the Napier-Hastings area, but cooler temperatures were being forecast for the rest of the week.