Another scorcher: Napier hits 34.2C as heat cranks up again

Farms and orchards will soon start to feel the pinch of the continuing hot, dry summer weather. Photo / Warren Buckland

The relentless Hawke's Bay summer sun is going nowhere fast.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Serris said Thursday's maximum in Hawke's Bay was 34.2C at 1pm in Napier.

Even though it will be slightly cooler over the coming days, the biggest chill might have been in Serris' words for those crying out for rain - "don't hold your breath".

"Thursday was an extremely hot day for Hawke's Bay reaching easily over 30 degrees but that is set to cool off hitting the weekend with temps dropping to 23 degrees on Friday and Saturday, with it getting a little hotter going into Sunday," he said.

MetService's extended forecast does predict a dollop of rain to come on Wednesday.

But Serris said current patterns could cause that to dry up to nothing too.

"It will most likely continue to be dry and if you get any rain don't expect much."

With the region's river levels starting to drop, and farmers on the brink of a challenging time, fire risk is still arguably the biggest issue facing the region.

The region is sitting on a complete fire ban and on Thursday Te Mata Park asked, via Facebook, for people to stay vigilant of any fire risks on the tinder-dry peak.

Hawke's Bay principal rural fire officer Trevor Mitchell said people needed to stay vigilant and report any fire activity.