Surface flooding along Westshore Beach Reserve on Monday morning. Photo / Warren Buckland
A flight headed for Napier from Auckland had to turn back due to poor weather today as heavy rain battered Hawke's Bay.
It was one of two Air New Zealand flights cancelled in and out of Napier due to the torrid weather.
Napier's no-appointment Covid testing site also fell victim to the wet weather and shut early at Westshore today .
About 85mm of rain had fallen around the Napier area by 3pm, according to MetService.
The forecast was for the rain to weaken - but continue - into tomorrow , with possible dry spells in the afternoon.
A MetService warning was in place until 5pm during the public holiday in parts of Hawke's Bay, with the risk of surface flooding and slips.
Despite the high rainfall, fire services did not report any major call-outs to assist with flood emergencies.
Fire services were called to a flooding incident at a property in Onekawa about 8am on Monday but, upon arrival, the owner did not require further assistance.
Air NZ confirmed two afternoon flights were cancelled because of the weather including one (NZ5009) which had to turn back to Auckland, and another (NZ5018) which could not depart Napier.
"Customers will be accommodated on alternative services," an Air NZ spokeswoman said.
Farmers across the region, though, could not have been happier about the conditions.
"It is brilliant. It will make a hell of a difference," Jim Galloway, the Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay president, said.
"In January, I don't think there was anywhere in Hawke's Bay that got much above 50 per cent of average rainfall for the month, and a lot of areas were down to 25 per cent."
He said it had been steady rainfall over a couple of days, which was great to see.
"If you have 50mm in two hours most of that will just run off and wouldn't actually get into the soil, whereas this is a really good soaking rain."
Meanwhile, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency urged people to take extra care on the roads during the wet weather in Hawke's Bay.
"Watch out for unexpected hazards like surface flooding in low-lying areas, potholes, slips or fallen trees. Heavy rain can also reduce visibility," Jaclyn Hankin, the Waka Kotahi regional manager maintenance and operations, said.
You can check the Waka Kotahi travel information site journeys.nzta.govt.nz for the latest updates on road closures.
An anti-mandate protest convoy rolled through Hawke's Bay today after wet SH5 road conditions slowed its arrival.
The Convoy 2022 NZ group was protesting Covid mandates by driving in convoys - including large trucks - from the top of the North Island and the bottom of the South Island, meeting in Wellington on Tuesday.
A Napier resident, who did not want to be named, said she was driving home from Taupo and got caught behind the protest convoy.
The Taupo-Napier journey took her about two and a half hours.
It usually takes an hour and 50 minutes to two hours, depending on road conditions.
She said the convoy was travelling on average at about 50km/h on the highway, which will soon be reduced to an 80kmh speed limit.
Motorists are being warned to expect hazardous driving conditions.