Waitangi weekend weather shapes up

About a hundred boats took part in the Kohimarama Beach Sailing Club races yesterday. Picture / Dean Purcell

The sand is hot, the water warm, the campground is pumping, the hangi is down, and the surf's up.

New Zealanders have flocked to the beach in their thousands on Waitangi weekend.

Although mostly fine weather is expected again today, thunderstorms and hail could rain on the parade at Waitangi later in the afternoon.

Other parts of the upper North Island could also see afternoon thunder and rain.

The recent muggy spell was interrupted yesterday by a refreshing southwesterly, but the UV index continued to register in the extreme, with people warned to seek shade between 11am and 4pm.

MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt said more anticyclones were expected over the country throughout February and March.

"The overnight lows in Auckland are no longer reaching in the 20s, like they were last week," he said.

But the mercury was still failing to fall below a balmy 18C.

"If the overnight low is up around 20C, then about 10-20 per cent of the population are uncomfortable with the humidity.

"If it gets up to around 23C at night, like it has been around Whangarei and so forth, then about 40-50 per cent of the population find it uncomfortable."

Warm seas were the culprit for the recent muggy and humid conditions, Mr McDavitt said. Sea temperatures were already above 20C, and they were not due to peak until next month.

A check on some of the North Island's top surf spots yesterday showed Taranaki to have the best waves, with some sets reaching 1.5m near Oakura.

But taking to those waters could be risky right now, with a number of shark sightings recently.

One shark, dubbed Brutus Brutal by local surfers, was seen "doing aerials 400m off the beach" at Oakura on Saturday evening, according to the website Surf2Surf.com.

Further north, Raglan and Piha had "lumpy and bumpy" conditions. The waves between Gisborne's Wainui beach and Whangamata were steady but only between knee and waist height.

It seems the smaller waves haven't deterred anyone.

Mt Maunganui Surf Club patrol captain Kent Jarman estimated up to 8000 people flocked to the main beach along Marine Parade yesterday.

"It's great. The place is humming."

Similar numbers were expected today, weather permitting.

Not surprisingly, ice-cream shops have been doing a roaring trade, with Pauanui Takeaway manager Craig Jones nominating cookies and cream as the most popular flavour.

"We're going through boxes and boxes of the stuff. It's very, very busy.

"The staff are earning their keep - they're even running at times."

Piha campground manager Fiona Anderson said Waitangi weekend had surpassed Auckland Anniversary as her biggest and busiest of the year.

"We've had the most incredible season so far. It's absolutely the best in the six years I've been here.

"I'm so pleased. It's what we've been working for all this time."

The ground was packed with 250 happy campers. Up to 80 were last night enjoying a hangi.

The weather outlook might be bright, but Niwa scientist Dr Jim Salinger said New Zealand had a 70 per cent chance of copping the fury of a tropical cyclone each summer.

So far three cyclones had developed further north of the country, but none had travelled south.