Hawke’s Bay endured a weather rollercoaster this week with fluctuating temperatures, humid conditions, and even a bout of surface flooding.
The Central Hawke’s Bay town of Waipukurau was hit by a spell of flash surface flooding in its town centre on Thursday night as thunderstorms and heavily localised downpours lashed the area.
Rural Accountants Hawke’s Bay director Frans Els said it was a shock when the rain started at about 3.30pm and stopped by 5.30pm, leaving surface flooding in its wake.
“They predicted it was going happen again an hour later, but luckily it didn’t.”
He said it was the first time he’d seen something like this happen in town.
“I think it was too much for the drains to take it away. It was just too quick.”
On Friday morning, neighbours pitched in to help clean up, manning brooms to help sweep away the water.
“We all just worked together to get the offices up and running properly, it was just full of water at the entrance. Across the road was even worse than by us.”
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council said on social media that the thunderstorm warning had lifted by 8.19pm, but advised people not to enter the Tukituki River from Waipukurau Wastewater Treatment Plant from Mt Herbert Rd downstream as a result of the heavy rain causing an overflow.
MetService meteorologist John Law said the event was not a weather bomb, but more a mix of climate conditions resulting in a heavy downpour and an intense thunderstorm.
“It would’ve been exactly the combination we’ve been thinking about for the last couple of days. Those high temperatures and that humidity plus a little bit of a mechanism to get that air moving upwards make the perfect combination for those systems to develop.
“You’ve got insulation in the atmosphere so that air wants to rise. You’ve got the moisture there, which helps clouds build. As anyone in Hawke’s Bay will tell you, you can feel how much moisture there is in the air.”
The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council rainfall meter for Waipukurau recorded 33.8mm of rain on January 18.
Law said because of the localised nature of the shower; it was hard to pinpoint exact totals from the MetService data.
“Down towards Takapau plains, there was 3mm in an hour. There would have been quite localised showers, so you could get a big difference between one side of the street and the other.”
Hot days are also set to continue this weekend. Law said most of the temperatures on Friday were set to hit the 30Cs, and this could continue for the start of the weekend.
“What’s been very notable will be nighttime temperatures. Lows will be down to about 23C, our average daytime temperature is 24C.”
Despite the heat, Law said the rain will start to creep up on the region again near the end of the weekend and into next week.
“You might catch an isolated shower on Saturday, Napier southwards.
“There is another area of low pressure which is moving in which is something to watch out for next week.”
As of Friday, it looked like Hawke’s Bay would also escape the heavy swells set to come in further up the East Coast.
The MetService marine forecast predicts average boating conditions this weekend, possibly affected by light-fair winds and a swell height of around 1-2 metres.
Advice, as in most extreme weather cases, was to continue to look out for weather alerts and keep friends and family informed and prepared for both heat and flooding.
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community.