Mercury hits thirsty 30s again in Hawke’s Bay

The sky was grey over Rissington, but it's dry on the ground beneath, with little forecast for rain. Photo / Michaela Gower

The weather gods have delivered Hawke’s Bay another taste of the thirsty 30s — during one of the larger arrivals of the pre-Christmas cruise season.

The sky was grey over Rissington, but it's dry on the ground beneath, with little rain forecast. Photo / Michaela Gower

Recording stations were seeing temperatures of 31.2C in Napier and 30.6C in Hastings about 3.30pm on Friday, as the roasting of the Heretaunga and Ruataniwha plains continues, with no forecast of rain before Tuesday.

Wairoa had a forecast maximum of 28C, Waipukurau 26C and Dannevirke 22C. The high for the summer in Hawke’s Bay so far is 33.7C in Napier on December 5.

Just over 3000 passengers were aboard the Carnival Splendour, which arrived at 5.30am and departed the city at 3pm. The largest visitor is Ovation of the Seas, which is due to arrive on December 22, with about 4900 passengers.

Those enduring near-drought conditions in the region have hot days ahead, with little likelihood of rain forecast.

Much of Hawke’s Bay from the airport south has had no more than one day with rain in the past month.

Fire services remained on alert, with prohibition on the lighting of fires in most areas of Hawke’s Bay. Fire and Emergency NZ had had no calls to vegetation first in Hawke’s Bay as of late Friday afternoon.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 41 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.