The mercury was expected to shoot up to 29C for Hastings and Napier today as a scorching weekend takes hold in eastern regions.
“Some spots in Hawke’s Bay may even crack 30C on Saturday for the first time since last summer,” Corrigan said.
“The last time Hastings recorded a temperature over 30 was the 24th of February at the end of last summer with 30.8C.”
Niwa meteorologist Chris Brandolino said parts of the country were looking at “pretty impressive” warmth.
Other areas in the North Island, such as Hamilton and Northland, will also see highs in the low-to-mid-20s.
He said with gusty northwest winds of up to 70km/h expected, Canterbury and Otago faced elevated fire risks as humidity dropped to about 40% in these areas.
A strong wind watch was in place for 12 hours from midnight for the Canterbury High Country.
Ashburton and Christchurch could see temperatures spike to 28C, with areas like Gore reaching 22C – several degrees above the November average highs.
“Temperatures will be around 8-10C higher than usual for this time of year.”
Corrigan said persistent heavy rain began overnight in the South Island, affecting the West Coast, Southern Alps and the deep south.
West Coast Emergency Management manager Claire Brown said the region was bracing for 400mm of heavy rain from lunchtime until noon tomorrow.
She said it had contacted co-ordinators and would meet today to “plan arrangements”.
“It is not unusual for these areas to receive these amounts of rainfall; however, as always, we need to be closely monitoring and ready to activate if need be, particularly for the Westland district.
“Members of the public are advised to keep up to date with weather information as rivers may rise quickly, surface flooding and slips are possible and driving conditions could be hazardous”
Orange heavy rain warnings were in place for Westland, northern Fiordland and the Main Divide of the Southern Alps south of Arthur’s Pass.
“Intense rainfall may cause streams and rivers to rapidly rise on both sides of the Main Divide as 300-400mm of rain is expected to fall about the Westland ranges and Canterbury headwaters within a little over a day,” Corrigan said.
“These are substantial numbers, even for the West Coast, so it’s certainly worth preparing in advance by moving stock and planning for potential travel restrictions.”
Heavy rain watches have been issued for southern Fiordland, Southland, eastern Clutha and the Grey district.
Corrigan said there was a “moderate chance” these would be upgraded to an orange warning.
He said the rain would ease while travelling up the country to the lower North Island on Sunday.
“Warning amounts” of rain for these regions were not expected.
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